War Fields
by Darster
Summary: Sparks fly when Roxanne Trakker meets Annie Turner and finds out she has a connection to VENOM. **COMPLETED**
1. War Fields: Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a co-fic between myself and Lisa L. This fic came about due to some discussion on the Boulderhill MASK mailing list regarding the true nature of the relationship between Brad Turner and Vanessa Warfield. The rest of the inspiration came from the newly created MASK RPG, where Lisa and I decided that our two characters would DEFINITELY hate each other's guts. :) This is the story of how that came about. It's a slight crossover with the 1987-1988 TV Series High Mountain Rangers, more of which will be seen if I ever manage to write a sequel.  
  
Disclaimer: I own Annie Turner, Lisa owns Roxanne Trakker. Neither of us own MASK or High Mountain Rangers, they are copyrighted by their respective owners. The lyrics to "Fast Movin' Train" by Restless Heart, and "The Dance" by Garth Brooks are copyrighted by them and the respective songwriters. In other words, don't sue me! :)  
  
Rating is PG-13 for language and violence...in other words, all the good stuff!   
  
Happy Reading, and please review. Do note that all flames will be put out with Gator's Ice Cannon and the offender subjected to the "Electronic Ouch".  
  
*************  
  
War Fields: Chapter 1  
  
  
With the feel of the windng past, and the rumble of Condor's motorcycle engines below him, Brad Turner wished that, for once in his life, a few weeks could go by without any undue excitement. _Uh huh_, said the young rock-n-roller that still lived inside him. _And since when have you *NOT* craved excitement? Ever since I had the responsibility of raising a child_, responded the older, more mature, and now more dominant part of himself. A child, his daughter to be exact. "His daughter", Annie, currently rode behind him on Condor. He could feel her slim arms around his waist, and judging from the way her head rested in the middle of his back, Annie had fallen asleep on the bike. Brad always did his best to keep their rides smooth, but after his realization, he tried harder.  
  
His daughter. The words rolled around in his mind and repeated themselves. His daughter...but not just his, came the voice of logic. That would be genetically impossible. No, somewhere out in the great wide world, his daughter had a mother. His mind's eye brought her picture into full focus...deep aquamarine eyes, and fiery red hair with dark streaks abounding. _God, Vanessa..._ Brad thought. Vanessa, Vanessa Warfield...his first love, his only love...and a member of the most wanted terrorist organization in the world.   
  
  
  
_She had a long line of lovers, mostly the gambling kind.  
I didn't want to be like the others, and get left behind.  
I knew about her bad reputation, and how she had a heart of stone.  
How she'd give a man a moment of pleasure, to get what she wants.  
_  
_I had a weakness for her kind of woman, I could never deny.  
I knew I would never see it coming, till I was lost in her eyes.  
The more I tried to keep her at a distance, the more I became aware  
She was breaking down my resistance, till I no longer cared_  
  
_Tonight I saw a red, red rose in a yellow moon.  
Shining on a sillohuette lying in the shadows of my bedroom.  
I knew it when we made love and I couldn't quit calling her name  
That I'd been hit by another Fast Movin' Train_  
  
  
  
Fast Movin' Train didn't even begin to describe it. A rocket, a whirlwind, a hurricane, or a tornado may have been even closer. Either way, she reeled him in hard and sucked him in even deeper. He knew, he KNEW she was all wrong, but before he knew what hit him, he'd proposed and she, for whatever reason, had accepted. And even after Andy Trakker's death, even after she turned away from him to join the newly created Viscious Evil Network of Mayhem (VENOM), even after Matt Trakker had practically accused him of knowing something that could have stopped his brother's death, Brad loved her. He STILL loved her.  
  
  
  
_I wondered, as I lay there and held her  
Why can't this be real?  
And why the fear wouldn't let me tell her  
How good she made me feel._  
  
_I doubted if she would even be around   
When the morning comes  
I waited till she fell asleep to whisper  
"Baby look what you've done..."_  
  
_Tonight I saw a red,red rose in a yellow moon  
Shining on a sillohuette lying in the shadows of my bedroom.  
I knew it when we made love and I couldn't quit calling her name  
That I'd been hit by another Fast Movin' Train  
  
I'd been hit by another Fast Movin' Train._  
  
  
  
How long had it lasted? A year, two years? Brad still wasn't really sure. Enough time for her to reappear on his doorstep one day, with divorce papers and a small bundle. Her only words to him that day were, "Here's your divorce papers and your child. Take care of them both." _God, Vanessa..._ he thought again.   
  
Thank God for willing parents, who agreed to raise Annie in the midst of his recent divorce, blossoming music career, and appointment to the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (MASK), the task force raised to battle VENOM and hence Vanessa. When his parents expressed concern about taking care of an active teenager in their advanced years, Brad did his best to accommodate. Thank God, again, for Buddy's extended family in the Lake Tahoe region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Buddy's distant cousin Jesse Hawkes founded the High Mountain Rangers to promote safety in the mountains, and oldest son Matt followed in his father's footsteps as Ranger Commander. Newly retired Jesse didn't mind taking care of Annie on Brad's frequent 'business trips', and it helped that Matt's younger brother Cody was Annie's age. Cody knew the mountains almost as well as his father, so the kids kept themselves occupied most of the time, so Jesse said. Sometimes Matt and the other Rangers would let the kids hang out at the Ranger station or tag along on some of the more routine requests. Robin, the team's only female Ranger, provided a good female influence, as did Jesse's wife Jackie, who seemed to be something of a surrogate mother to Annie, or so he'd been told. In fact, he had just picked her up from one of her sojourns into the mountains, and it must have been an active one at that, or she would have been talking his ear off rather than sleeping. All in all, he could be proud that he managed to maintain such a strong father/daughter bond in the face of everything that's happened.  
  
_Let's face it though, Turner_, piped in his older voice of experience again, _sixteen years ago, your life turned itself upside down and backwards. In fact, it changed your tune from hard rock to one of those sappy old country music songs that everyone makes fun of. The ones where if you play it backwards, you get all your stuff back. And that's why thinking of *HER* has you quoting Restless Heart lyrics in your head._  
  
And he wouldn't have traded it for anything. How did that one line of that one song go? Oh yeah...  
  
  
  
_My life is better left to chance...  
I could have missed the pain  
But I've had to miss  
The Dance_  
  
  
  
_From Restless Heart to Garth Brooks? You've cracked, Turner,_ said that faint younger voice. _You've finally cracked._  
  
Brad shook his head to clear it as he pulled up to their destination. Slowing Condor down, he pulled easily into the open space between the orange of the Jeep Gator, and the orange pickup Firecracker. He removed his helmet and adjusted his trademark dark shades, allowing himself a small stretch before nudging the figure behind him into wakefulness.  
  
"Mmmmf..." came the sleepy reply.  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead," he called cheerfully. "We're here."  
  
Annie lifted her head from his shoulder and untangled her arms from his waist. He turned to see her slowly remove her helmet and blink sleepy green eyes at him. Her long red hair hung in a single braid down her back, the darkened tip of the braid the only obvious sign of her dubious parentage. She had a slim build and reached to an average height of about 5' 7". Julio had surmised that at 16, she had probably pretty much attained her full growth. Every time he looked at her, Brad couldn't help but see some features that reminded him of Vanessa. _So different, and yet so alike..._  



	2. War Fields: Chapter 2

War Fields: Chapter 2  
  
  
He was giving her *THAT* look...again. Every time he looked at her lately, it seemed to be with *THAT* look. Granted, they spent a lot of time apart lately too, but not enough that two glances out of every three should be *THAT* look. Annie really HATED *THAT* look. The one that said: "I'm looking at you, but I'm really thinking about her, and deep down, I'm comparing the similarities." Annie really disliked *HER* too. She often wondered what would happen if she and *HER* ever met in person. What would get said or done? Then Annie realized that she really hoped she never met *HER*... *HER* had never really cared about Annie, so why should Annie care about *HER*?   
  
_Because he cares about *HER*_, replied herself to her own rhetorical question.   
  
Before she could drive herself crazy, or her father drove her crazy with *THAT* look, she reached over and shoved him playfully hard in the shoulder. Brown eyes blinked surprise at her, and before he could ask why she'd done that, the words were out of her mouth.  
  
"You were giving me *THAT* look...again."  
  
Brad's eyes refocused on her and her alone. "*THAT* look?" He paused as realization set in. "Oh." Another pause. "I was just thinking that I really need to stop listening to the Restless Heart CD's I buy for you."  
  
"What does Restless Heart have to do with...." It was Annie's turn to pause. "Oh." Another pause. Then, "Have Larry Stewart and the other guys been putting your life story to music again?"  
  
She was attempting to lighten the mood. It worked as her father flashed her a small smile. "Something like that."  
  
Annie grinned. "You really should make it a point to talk to them about that. They should at least have the courtesy to share the royalties. You can get me my autograph while you're at it." She hopped off the bike and did a full body stretch as she looked around. The last of her sleepiness fell away and her mood darkened a bit. "Why are we here?" she asked, indicating Matt Trakker's mansion with a sweep of her hand.  
  
"Matt's having a barbeque," was the simple reply.  
  
"You didn't tell me."  
  
"I thought I did."  
  
"You didn't."  
  
"I thought I did."  
  
"You DIDN'T," she emphasized. "What's more is, you probably deliberately didn't tell me because you knew I wouldn't want to come. So you took advantage of my exhausted state and drove here anyway."  
  
"Come on, Red," Brad cajoled, knowing she was right. "You can't tell me you haven't missed some of Dusty's cooking. Oh look," he pointed out sweetly, "there he is on the hill, waving at us with a spatula."  
  
"You also knew I wouldn't make a big scene about leaving once somebody noticed we were here."  
  
"Guilty as charged," he admitted, jumping off the bike and slipping his arm around her shoulders, leading her up the hill. "Come on, it won't be that bad."  
  
Annie sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, I give up. I just really wish you would have told me. You know I get nervous here."  
  
"Relax, the guys and I will be here to protect you," he said with a wink.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, my hero."  
  
They finished the climb up the hill in time to see Dusty rush up to greet them, still holding his barbeque fork.   
  
"Annie!" He pulled her into a strong bear hug. The southern man's bulk could be deceiving to the outer eye, but it was all muscle. "Hoo-wee girl, I ain't seen you in a coon's age!"  
  
"It hasn't been that long, Dusty," commented Brad from behind her.  
  
"That's easy for you to say," Dusty shot back. "You ain't the one that's been stuck in the mountains without real food." To Annie, he said, "You stick with me, girl, an' today we're gonna get you some of the best cookin' this side of the Sierra Nevadas!"  
  
She laughed heartily, returning his hug. She forgot how much she missed the Southern man's humor. "I am pretty hungry."  
  
"Well come on, then, what're we waitin' for?"  
  
Dusty led Annie toward the grill, where they were sidelined by Buddy as he was heading toward the drink cooler. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he saw Annie on Dusty's arm. "Look who's back, our resident mountain goat. Old man finally let you off the mountain, did he?"  
  
"Yeah, he brings me down for the public occasions," Annie quipped, playing along with the mechanic's teasing. "Has to keep that family oriented image for his fans every once in a while."  
  
Buddy laughed, and took his turn for a hug. "Well, its good to have you back, kiddo. Here's hoping it's a little longer this time."  
  
Before Annie could reply, another voice interrupted. "Hello, Annie."  
  
If Buddy's arm hadn't squeezed reassuringly on her shoulder, or Dusty hadn't been shoring up her other side, Annie probably would have bolted right then and there. Instead, she forced herself to look up into Matt Trakker's calm blue eyes and smile. "Uh...Hi...Matt."  
  
"You and Brad must have just arrived, I didn't see you earlier."  
  
"Yeah...we...we, uh, did a few minutes ago." _Leave,_ Annie prayed silently, _please leave or I'm going to bolt._  
  
He smiled warmly at her. "Well, I'm glad you could make it. I'm sure Scott will be happy to see you too. I'll let him know you're here when I see him."   
  
"Thanks," she managed to say, before Matt turned back to his other guests.  
  
"Three whole sentences. That's gotta be a new record for ya, Annie," Dusty joked when Matt was out of earshot.  
  
"Not now, Dusty," Buddy said softly, giving Annie's shoulder another reassuring squeeze.  
  
Annie thought she might faint right then and there. Her legs felt like they were going to give out underneath her, and probably would have if she wasn't leaning on Buddy. Three sentences! Three sentences of polite conversation could turn her legs to jelly and make her feel faint! She never felt this nervous around Jesse Hawkes' commanding presence, the man who single handedly built the High Mountain Rangers! How could one man make her feel so freaking nervous!?! But he wasn't just one man...he was one of *THE* most powerful and influential men in the whole country. The man who had created the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand...and had a considerable axe to grind...  
  
"Sit!" commanded a seemingly far away voice she vaguely thought could be Buddy's.   
  
Something cold landed in her lap and she recognized the red, white, and blue of a Pepsi bottle. Annie unscrewed the cap and took a rather large drink before she looked around. Buddy had pulled her into a semi-secluded area that was still in view and earshot of the main happenings. She happened to be leaning against the trunk of a large tree, and he stood against it casually as though things like this happened every day.  
  
"Why?" she asked rhetorically. "Why does the mere sight of the man make me want to run screaming in terror?"  
  
Buddy had an instinctive way of knowing things...it's probably what made him so good in intelligence. He instinctively knew that Annie didn't really want an answer to that question, so he merely said, "I'll steer anymore well-wishers kinda clear of this area. I'm sure you'll come find us when you feel better."  
  
She smiled up at him. "I appreciate that, Buddy, thanks. A lot."  
  
"No problem, Red."  
  
Annie caught the sound of running footsteps from the opposite direction Buddy was walking. "There you are!" yelled a male voice from the direction of the footsteps and Scott Trakker jogged into view. "Brad said you were here and I've been looking all over for you!"  
  
Despite her reservations about his father, something about Scott's enthusiasm always made her smile. "Hello to you too, Scott, I'm fine, thanks for asking." she teased.  
  
"Yeah, hello," he gasped as he quit jogging long enough to grab her wrist and pull her to her feet. "There's someone I want you to meet, come on!"  



	3. War Fields: Chapter 3

Author's Note: Special thanks to Harry for the reviews! I'm sorry to say that Lisa and I have more VENOM-ous cliffhangers coming in later chapters...you have been warned! :) Also, some of the history of the story from this point forward builds off of Lisa's other stories "Blood and Water" and "The Enemy Within". It's not absolutely necessary to read those first, but it will help to understand the background of this story. It's also a shameless plug. :)

  
  
  
War Fields: Chapter 3

  
_Who could he want me to meet? God I hope it's not his father again, I don't think I'd survive another round of it._  
  
"Annie will you quit your day dreaming and pick up the pace," Scott spoke with anticipation as he dragged her into the public eye of the party. The first thing she noticed was a burnet girl about her age speaking with her father in the distance. _Who's that? Better not be one of those lovie dovie fans who drool all over him. _  
  
  
Brad Turner tried to walk in ever direction around the girl, but she kept cutting him off, "Come on Brad! All I'm asking is for permission to go California and see you perform live on stage with Aerosmith. I mean what could be cooler then that?"  
  
He stopped trying to move around her and glanced into her blue eyes, "Have you spoke with your dad about that?"  
  
"Oh PLEASEEEEE Brad," she got down on her knees making the biggest show of her life and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, "Didn't you promise me you'd do something to make up for…"  
  
"Hey! Don't go bring that up right now," he then helped her up off the ground, "You got grounded again didn't you?"  
  
Roxy crossed her arms smirking, "Is there anything that goes on in my life that you people don't know about?"   
  
"And you know I'm not going to answer that," He smiled as he walked right passed her towards the refreshments.  
  
Buddy put a hand on her shoulder as he walked by, "Nice try!"  
  
"Nice try? You told me the puppy dog eyes would work!" Roxanne looked at him annoyed as if she just committed a sin.  
  
He laughed, "They work for me. I didn't say Brad would fall for them."  
  
"Eh you guys are so impossible," She stepped away irritated and ready to scream. Her attention drifted towards Scott who was dragging a red headed girl in her direction. "Hey I didn't think there was a place to pick up girls out here?" she snickered.  
  
Scott slightly blushed at the remark, as he turned to Annie for a moment then back to Roxanne, "Hey Roxy knock it off! Anyways Annie this is Roxanne my sister."  
  
Annie just stood there puzzled. They just kept the shocks coming around here. _Sister? Is she adopted like Scott? I really have to make it a point to get out more.  
_  
"I can tell you're lost," she remarked at Annie's all out stare, " frankly I don't even know how I got here either."  
  
Scott continued with the introduction, "Roxy this is Annie, she's Brad daughter."  
  
"Whoa!" she reacted surprise and with her mouth hanging open, "Brad has a daughter? That's funny cause he never mentioned it. I would have never guessed he was the fatherly type."  
  
Annie was uncertain how to reply to the remark, so she settled for a halfway neutral, "Uh…please to meet you I guess."  
  
Scott scratched his head, as it remained silent for a few minutes afterwards, "Did I make this anymore awkward?"  
  
_Anymore awkward? The only thing that might be worse would be Matt stopping by for another chat,_ Annie thought to herself while still trying to keep her expression neutral.  
  
Roxanne broke the silence, "It's nice to meet somebody who's not in anyways connected to my dad. I'm a little embarrassed that nobody at this stink'n barbeque managed to even mention Brad had a daughter. What the heck is wrong with Brad, the other guys talk about their families all the time."  
  
_Why? Why did dad not say anything?_ Annie notice Roxanne was annoyed by the secret, "I guess I should be just as mad. Although I don't get out here that much, I spend most my time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with the Hawkes family."  
  
"You hang out with Buddy's family?" She looked at her with total disbelief, "That's it everyone of these guys at this barbecue is going down." Her eyes narrowed on Scott, "Starting with Scott because he's within arm length."  
  
Scott backed up, "Hey now!" He notice she started cracking her knuckles, "Roxy, I?" Scott ran back towards his father as Roxanne just too one step towards him.  
  
Annie didn't look amuse, "That was mean. Besides, it isn't his fault nobody communicates around here."  
  
"I'm still trying to get use to this whole sibling thing," She confessed, "besides we can do some serious girl talking without him around."  
  
Annie asked curiously, "If you don't mind me asking. I've known Scott all my life and he's never once mention about a sister."  
  
"Oh I'll give you the short version," she spoke as she sat down on the grass, "I've only lived here almost 2 years. My mother died when I was really young never telling me who my real father was. Then by the luck of the draw we crossed paths. Since then I was given a new life and a chance to know my father. Well that is when he's actually around," She spoke with some displeasure.  
  
Annie wondered out loud, "That's strange cause Scott always talks about the places him and Matt go."  
  
"Yeah well Scott isn't grounded for a decade," Roxanne smirked as she pulled some grass out of the ground. "Anyways what about your mother?"  
  
Annie pondered for a moment, "She abandon me when I was just a baby."  
  
"That really had to suck," was all Roxanne could muster out as a reply.   
  
Annie tried to shrug it off as no big deal, although it was. "Worse for Dad than for me, I suppose."  
  
There was another moment of awkward silence before Roxanne spoke again, "Well Annie Turner, I get the feeling that were going to be such good friends." She then placed an arm around Annie neck, "And as a sign of this new friendship, could you please talk to your father about letting me attend his concert, cause he owes me big time."  
  
Annie turned to her, "Your not very good at begging."  
  
"I can't pull off the innocent routine, cause those guys know how I work," She admitted.  
  
"Well, he's immune to the puppy dog eyes seeing as he gets those from about one million insipid fan girls every day," Annie relayed, a little too late for Roxy. "Hard work usually does the trick for me, and extended absences help a little." She shrugged helplessly. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been begging him for *FOREVER* to get me autographs from the band Restless Heart."  
  
Before Roxy could reply on her takes in music, Dusty shouted from the distance, "HEY KIDDO'S! You better eat before the food gets cold." With that remark, the girls headed towards the picnic tables to grab some grub.  
  
  
Matt and Brad sat under a shaded umbrella drinking cold beers and watching the two girls giggling over lunch. "See, what did I tell you the girls hit it off well," Brad smiled knowing his idea was a success.   
  
Matt couldn't help but smile as well, "I never doubted you for a second. She really needed a friend more then ever. Hopefully hanging around Annie will cause her to settling down on her rebel antics. Even Scott never got into that much trouble on his own."   
  
Brad laughed slightly knowing his friend was running out of ideas to control her, "I just hope this idea doesn't give too much of the opposite effect. Annie could stand to be a little less shy, but anything more than that I'm holding you responsible for, Trakker," he joked.   
  
  
The day was coming to a close, and Brad and Annie were ready to head home. As they headed towards Condor Brad asked, "So what do you think of Roxanne?"  
  
"She's very interesting. How come you've never told me about her? We've never kept secrets from each other before?" Annie asked with a hint of anger in her voice.  
  
Brad knew where this was going, "It wasn't definite she was actually going to live with Matt. She's lead a very troubled life and this is a lot for her to adjust to. She can be very sweet, when she's not trying to con her way into something."  
  
Annie wasn't certain if that was the answer she was looking for, "So this was an excuse for the two of us to meet?"  
  
Brad smiled adjusting his shades, "Pretty much."  
  
"Your not keeping anything else from me are you?" she asked with her hands on her waist.  
  
_Yeah, sure...your new friend is a former VENOM agent, and I had to pretend to be one to get her out alive._ Brad knew better than to tell her a truth that would ruin a blossoming friendship, but he couldn't outright lie to her, either. Instead, he totally sidestepped the question. "Come on, it's late and I know you're tired. Let's go home."  
  
"Dad..." Annie began, but she was cut off by Brad's firm tone.  
  
"Get on the bike, Annie."  
  
Her eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions that he couldn't read, but she didn't argue with him. Wordlessly, she climbed up onto Condor and put on her helmet. A few moments later, he followed.  
  
  
  
The ride home seemed unusually quiet. Annie really didn't feel much like talking...she was too busy thinking about some of the things Roxy had said. She came out of her reverie long enough to notice that her feet had carried her through the front door, almost as if on auto-pilot. As much time as she spent in the mountains, and as much as she loved Buddy's extended family, there really was no place like home.  
  
"It's good to be home again," she said softly as she walked up the stairs to her room.  
  
Everything was much like she left it, she noticed, as she changed into an oversized T-shirt and an old pair of shorts. As she unbraided her hair and ran a brush through it, she again thought back to some of the things Roxy had said. Some of them she didn't know how to respond to, and some just didn't make any sense. Annie found herself really liking Matt's daughter, and she wanted to know more about her. Like what exactly is up with her and Dad, anyway? When she had tried to feel him out, he pulled rank on her, effectively ending the conversation. _Well, maybe now that we aren't standing on Trakker territory, he might be a little more open. It's not like him to hold back like that.  
_  
She laid the brush down and padded down the hall, noting that his bedroom door was still open. She stood in the doorway for a moment, until Brad looked up at her, eyebrows arched. "Figured you'd probably be asleep by now. What's up?"  
  
"Just thinking about some things Roxy said today," Annie replied as she sat down on the bed. "It was kind of weird...when Scott introduced us and said I was your daughter, she seemed angry that you never told her. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to make of that..." She laid down, propping her head up on an elbow, facing Brad. "I really like her, and I'd like to know more about her, so I mean...if something happened between you two..."  
  
Annie let herself trail off, unsure how else to express her curiousity. An unreadable expression crossed her father's face for a moment, but Annie waited patiently for him to find the right words.  
  
Brad, however, was feeling more like a deer caught in the headlights with every passing moment. He thought briefly, then came up with what he hoped was the right approach. "Well, remember that I told you she's had a troubled life, right? She lost her mother, and never knew her father until she was a teen. By the time she came to live with Matt, she had already grown up wild."  
  
"Unlike me, who had a larger support network," Annie verbalized softly.  
  
Brad smiled and ruffled her hair playfully. "Exactly. So, I guess you could say I've kind of taken Roxy under my wing."  
  
"Because you've been there."  
  
He grinned wider. This was working out better than he expected. "Right again."  
  
"So, why didn't you ever mention me to her?" Annie asked, trying to keep the small touch of bitterness out of her voice.  
  
"Well, two reasons. One is that again, we weren't sure she'd be staying with Matt. I wouldn't have been able to introduce her to a good friend only to have that friend ripped away from her. The girl has been through enough as it is," Brad replied. "The second reason is that when I'm not home with you, that usually means I'm 'working', which doesn't leave a lot of time for socializing."  
  
Annie nodded. "Makes sense. So tell me more...I mean, what is it that you guys do, or have done? I just keep getting this feeling that there's something between you..."  
  
Brad shrugged. "I just try to be her friend. And maybe when you guys get to be better friends, she'll share some of those experiences with you. I don't know as it's my place to tell you."   
  
_Well, what do you know?_ quoted Brad's older self. _Found a way to quench her curiousity without outright lying to her. You're a genius, Turner,_ praised his younger self.  
  
Annie wasn't sure she could buy all this, but she couldn't dispute it either. "So you're kinda keeping her confidence."  
  
"More or less. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff you tell Robin and Jackie that I don't and won't ever know about."  
  
Annie laughed. "You wouldn't want to know the stuff I tell them, that's why I tell them." She paused for a moment, as what she just said sank into her brain. Her face twisted into a look of self mockery. "I just proved your point, didn't I?"  
  
He grinned, pulling her into a tight hug. "Yes, you did."  
  
Annie snaked her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. After a moment of silence, she said, "I missed you, Dad."  
  
"I missed you too, honey."  
  
"I love you, Dad."  
  
"I love you too, honey."  
  
Brad just sat there for a few minutes with his daughter cradled in his arms and a sense that for the moment, all was right with the world. The next time he looked down at her, he saw that she was sleeping. Gently he picked her up and carried her back to her room, then he went to bed himself. 


	4. War Fields: Chapter 4

  
War Fields: Chapter 4  
  
  
"There isn't any other way, Matt?"  
  
Matt shook his head at Buddy, who was performing a quick check up on the vehicles. "I wish there was. But PNA wants a team in Italy, and I need him on it."  
  
"He's not going to be happy about this," Buddy warned, laying a wrench on the tool chest. "At least let me give him a head's up."  
  
"I'm going to put the call out right now. Feel free, as long as you think you can beat me to it," Matt replied with a small smile.  
  
Buddy had the phone in his hand before Matt dissappeared into Boulder Hill's secret areas. He quickly punched in a phone number and waited.  
  
One ring. Two rings. Three rings...then: " 'lo?" The voice sounded female, despite the sleepiness laced through it.  
  
"Your dad up?" Buddy asked politely, not bothering to announce himself.  
  
"Dunno," replied the voice on the other end.   
  
Click. The reciever went dead. _That went well,_ Buddy thought to himself as he dialed again.  
  
One ring. Two rings...then: "What?" growled a definitively male voice, more annoyed than sleepy.  
  
"I hope you're awake, Brad, because you're about to get an even ruder wake up call then the one I'm making now."  
  
Chimes sounded in the background. Buddy heard the distinct thud of something being thrown into the distance, as well as muttered cursing. "Damnit Hawkes!" Brad snapped into the phone, now wide awake.  
  
"Hey, don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger," Buddy defended. "Besides, I tried to talk him out of it, but he says he needs you on the team."  
  
"What *I* need is to spend some much needed quality time with my daughter," Brad spit at him. "You do realize that not even twenty four hours has passed? And what exactly do I say: 'I had a great day honey, nice to see you again, by the way, I have to leave on another mission.'?"  
  
"Look, just get here and get debriefed," Buddy said calmly, trying to rationalize with the now angry father. "Considering the fact Annie just hung up on me, she's not going to notice you're gone anytime soon. When we're done, you can tell Matt your exact thoughts yourself."  
  
"Oh, I'll give him a piece of my mind all right," Brad said icily into the reciever. "Like he can take this mission and stick it---"  
  
Buddy quickly hung up.  
  
  
  
A few minutes later, Brad walked into the conference room where everyone else was already assembled.  
  
"Glad you could join us," Matt said half-jokingly.  
  
"I'm not," Brad replied flatly, taking a seat across from the MASK leader.   
  
His remark earned him a surprised glance from some of the others, and sympathetic glances from Dusty and Buddy, both of whom knew he hid a glare behind those dark shades.  
  
Matt ignored the remark and launched into his debriefing. "There have been sightings of Contraworld and VENOM agents in Italy. No one yet has any idea what they might be up to."  
  
"Nothing from your moles underground, Buddy?" asked Alex.  
  
"Not a peep."  
  
"Nevertheless," Matt continued, "The PNA wants a MASK team there to--"  
  
"Forget it." Brad stunned everyone by interrupting Matt mid-speech and standing up. "I'm not taking on a mission based on rumor and speculation. When you have something definitive, call me."  
  
Before anyone could reply, he walked out the door. He was halfway to the garage bay before Matt managed to stop him.  
  
"Just wait a minute, Brad."  
  
Brad whirled on him, taking off the shades and letting the MASK leader grip the full fury blazing in his eyes. "No, YOU just wait a minute, Trakker. Never once have I denied you anything you asked of me. I can't count the number of concerts I missed for you and this organization. It's a wonder I have any fans left at all. Even after I wanted to resign after all that shit with Andy and Vanessa, I stayed because you wanted me to. But I draw the line at taking a mission based on ghost stories not even a day after Annie's been home. It'd break her heart and I'm not going to stand by and let that happen."  
  
"Brad, there's no reason Annie can't go with you," Matt said softly.  
  
"There's a damn good reason Annie can't go with me, and you know exactly what it is!" Brad roared back.  
  
Matt swallowed hard, knowing he was about to take Brad's anger up a few notches. "How old is Annie now--Roxanne's age...16 maybe? Somewhere along the line, you're going to have to stop being so over-protective of her."  
  
"Oh, now there's the pot calling the kettle black," Brad shot back sarcastically.  
  
"I admit I've been protective of Scott over the years," Matt conceded, "but he's matured quite a bit in these last couple. So much so, that I trust he'd be a suitable and responsible companion for the girls while we are in Italy."  
  
"Girls?" The implication of that wasn't lost on Brad as his anger faded somewhat. "I thought Roxanne was grounded...again."  
  
"I'd be willing to lift that under these special circumstances," Matt smiled a bit wickedly, "and of course, the girls wouldn't be allowed anywhere without Scott and T-Bob. I'm sure Annie wouldn't have a problem with that."  
  
"I'm sure Roxy will," Brad replied with a grudging smile.  
  
"Roxanne is my problem, Annie is yours," replied Matt.  
  
"Actually, she's yours, because if you want me on this team, you're the one who has to ask her to go." Brad grinned wickedly at Matt, waiting to see his reaction. "And if she doesn't go, I don't go."  
  
Matt rose calmly to his bait. "I see. And you'll be waiting here for the response."  
  
"Oh you bet," Brad smiled. "And just to make it fair, I'll wait in the conference room with the others so that you don't think I'll sneak in a warning phone call."  
  
Under Matt's intense scrutiny, he walked back into the conference room, not bothering to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face.   
  
"What's the matter with ya, Brad?" Dusty asked. "First you go tearin outta here like Gangbusters, now yer back smilin' like the cat who ate the canary!"  
  
"He's got a dual personality disorder," Buddy quipped.  
  
"Nothing of the sort," Brad replied, sitting down and propping his feet up on the conference table. "Matt suggested Annie come with us to Italy, and I suggested he ask her."  
  
"The enemy of my friend is my enemy," Bruce said as the group gave him a collective puzzled look.  
  
"Brad, that's evil! You know that Annie can barely say two words to him!" Gloria cried in mock-indignation.  
  
"That, my dear, is what he's counting on," Alex said.  
  


  
  
As Matt pulled up to Brad's house in Thunderhawk, he wondered what in the world possessed him to do this. _Because you need Brad on that team,_ he told himself. He hated to take advantage of Brad's connection with Vanessa, but there were times it came in handy. Then again, there were times it didn't. Either way, he was on his way up the walk to talk to a girl who turned pale and faint if he even looked at her cross-eyed. He sighed, wondering if he seemed *THAT* imposing as he rang the doorbell.  
  
He very nearly rang it again before he heard the sound of footsteps from inside. The door opened, and Matt saw that Annie was still towel drying her hair from the shower. He decided to take the initiative before she noticed who was at the door and slammed it in his face.   
  
"Hi Annie. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."  
  
She glanced at him sideways, wringing out the last of her hair before replying slowly, "I just finished, but I don't think Dad's here," she said in an attempt to get him to leave.  
  
"That's quite all right, I actually came to talk to you," Matt replied without missing a beat. "May I come in?"  
  
Annie gulped, torn between being rude and making him stand in the doorway, or being more rude and telling him no. Matt thought she looked much like a scared rabbit. _Do I really look *THAT* imposing?_ He asked himself again as he waited for her reply.  
  
She finally gave in to etiquette with a quiet, "Umm...sure." As Matt stepped into the foyer, she added, "Though I'm not, uh, really sure why you wanted to talk to me..."  
  
"Actually, I--"  
  
But Matt stopped as he met the gaze of her piercing green eyes. He watched understanding dawn on her facial features, then watched as they set themselves into a hard look that he'd seen so many times...on Vanessa's face. "Wait, don't tell me...you're sending Dad on another mission, and you thought you'd deliver the news personally. Gee thanks," Annie said bitterly.   
  
Annie wasn't sure exactly what had come over her. Maybe it was the fact that she was in her own house, maybe it was the fact that Matt Trakker had interrupted a perfectly good morning, or maybe it was the fact that a whole day hadn't even gone by since she'd been home. It didn't really matter, because she just all of a sudden let him have it.  
  
"Well, I really appreciate you considering my feelings in the matter," she told Matt sarcastically with a harsh laugh. "Guess I better go pack." She pantomimed thinking, then added, "Oh wait, gee, it's only been a day...I haven't even had the chance to unpack yet. Guess it's your lucky day, you get to be rid of me all the sooner. Should I call Jesse now, or would you just like to dump me off at the first opportune moment?"  
  
It was, Matt conceded, at least the first genuine statement that she had given him, even if it was laced with anger and bitterness. They were at least communicating. He ignored the connotations of her words and replied simply, "Actually, I thought you might like to come with us."  
  
That brought her up short. For just a moment, he saw her expression soften, and then she barked a laugh again. "Haha...that's funny." She mimicked cleaning out her ears. "For just a minute, I thought you said that you wanted me to come with you, not that Dad would probably let me."  
  
"It was actually his idea that I ask you," Matt said calmly, baiting her in his own trap. "I planned on taking Scott and Roxanne along, and I thought you might like to join them."  
  
She looked at him in stunned silence for a moment. Matt watched a blush the color of her hair creep into her cheeks. "You're serious," she said softly.  
  
"Completely." He agreed. "So, as long as you are still packed, we can leave now if you like. I hear Italy's beautiful this time of year."  
  
Matt thought Annie might faint from shock as quiet as she was. Finally, she stammered the beginnings of an apology. "Matt...I didn't mean...it's just that...well, this isn't easy..." she finally admitted, and left it at that.  
  
"Of course being away from family isn't easy," he told her. "That's why I thought you should be included this time. So, why don't you get your things, and we'll go back to Boulderhill. I'm sure your father will be thrilled to be able to spend more time with you."  
  
_And I'll be thrilled to have him around in case things get ugly,_ Matt thought as Annie headed up to her room to get her stuff. 


	5. War Fields: Chapter 5

War Fields: Chapter 5

  
  
Despite Annie's courage to speak up to Matt, her shyness started to return while enduring the ride in Thunderhawk. The car was filled with an awkward silence. Annie had never been in such a close space with Matt Trakker, and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead, she gazed out the window plotting her father's punishment for making her endure such torment. Matt silently wished he knew how to make her more comfortable for the short drive, so he played with the radio until he reached a country music station. With this notion, Annie became more relax by the music and forgot about who sat next to her.  
  
Several minutes later at Boulderhill, Matt was the first to enter the control room. Brad laid back comfortably in his chair with his feet resting on top of the table, "Well chief, what's the verdict?" Matt stood there silently with a sly smile on his face, as Annie appeared from behind his back. Brad fell out of his chair in shock, "Annie? You serious?"  
  
Matt was going to set a hand on Annie shoulder, yet reframed from doing so in fear of upsetting her. Instead, he just stood there gloating with his arms crossed, "Don't look so surprise. Annie came her on her own free will."  
  
Annie looked at the facial expressions of Matt and her father, knowing somehow that she had definitely missed something. "I thought you wanted to spend some time with me?"  
  
Brad smiled as he made his way over to her and whispered into her hear, before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I do more then anything."   
  
While everybody was focus on Annie and Brad, Buddy elbowed Dusty in the shoulder, "Cough it up."  
  
Dusty smirked and pulled some money out of his pocket and slapped it into Buddy's hand, "Who would have thought he'da made it through their front door... this is the last time I make a bet with you."  
  
"You should pay more attention," Buddy replied good-naturedly. "The father/daughter bond ALWAYS wins out over incoherent shyness."  
  
Matt's friendly persona was soon replaced with seriousness, as he gave final orders to his team, "The transport leaves in two hours, get your gear together ladies and gentlemen." After that remark Matt returned to his home.  
  
  
As he reached the mansion, he shouted for his children, "Scott! Roxanne! I need to speak with both of you." The two wasted no time running down the stairs into the study. Usually he only shouted their names if he was leaving on a mission in such short notice or somebody was in deep trouble.  
  
Roxanne remarked as she entered the room, "What ever it is dad, I swear I didn't do it."  
  
Matt eyed her with suspicion, "Do what?"  
  
"Precisely," She smiled innocently, as she sat down on the couch next to Scott.  
  
He shook his head wondering if he should even ask, "I need you both pack were leaving for Venice, Italy in 2 hours."  
  
Scott spoke in his boyish tone, "So VENOM is in the area, huh dad?" Matt just nodded boldly at his son assumption.   
  
"Let me get this straight," she spoke with disbelief in her tone, " I'm going and your taking me knowing that VENOM will be within a reasonable radius of me. Dad did I miss something?"  
  
"OH your still grounded, but I'm stretching the rules because Annie is coming along. While you're in Venice, you will not go any where without Scott or T-bob." Roxanne was about to interject with a but, until Matt interrupted her, "No buts. You mess this up, I might consider boarding school."  
  
Roxanne's mouth dropped at the open-ended threat. _Oh is that how he's going to play it?_ She lied through her teeth trying to hold back any indication of anger, "Fine dad. I can live with that."  
  
"Good get packing," Matt smiled hoping he reached an understanding.  
  
  
Half the day passed before the transport reached Italy. As Roxanne entered the hotel room, she threw her bags into the room and plopped herself down on the bed exhausted. Annie followed in behind her setting her baggage neatly on her bed, "That sure was a long plane ride."   
  
Roxanne stretched out on the bed, "Yeah well roommate I got news for you. You realize that the only time your going to see your dad is maybe at meal time or when he turns in for the night."  
  
Anne sits down on the bed disappointed, "Really? I didn't really think about that when I agreed to go." She reached around and scratched the back of her neck in a habitual nervous gesture. "Heck, I guess I wasn't really thinking at all. I was too stunned by your father standing in my front door telling me I COULD go that I kind of just did what he told me. And then Dad took off so sudden, once the transported landed. He didn't even give me the chance to say bye or even a simple good luck."  
  
Roxanne sat up indian-style on the bed, "If he would have told you, you'd probably be attach to his leg, and he wouldn't be able to do his job."  
  
"I would not!" Annie blushed as she grabs her pillow and throws it in Roxanne's face.  
  
Roxanne laughs as she threw Annie's pillow back at her, "That just confirmed it!"  
  
Within a matter of minutes, pillows were flying all over the room. Roxanne and Annie were running around the room, tossing pillows at each other, and making loads of noise in the process. Matt opened the door connecting the room and felt stun when a pillow knocked him in the head. "OK girls that's enough," he picked up the pillow and threw it back on the bed. The two sat back on their respectable beds still hyper, yet tried to look innocent about the whole thing. "It's getting late and everybody is trying to get some sleep. I suggest you both turn in, because tomorrow going to be a long day."  
  
"Umm…Mr. Trakker," Annie asks, "Where is my father?"  
  
"He's off on a recon assignment with Buddy. I expect them both to report back by daybreak. Goodnight girls," Matt replied as he closed the door behind him.  
  
As soon as Matt shut the door, the girls burst out in laughter. Annie confessed, "I thought he was going to yell at us."  
  
Roxanne smiles, while she added a yawn, "He was good sport about the whole thing. I think I'm going to catch some Zs, we got a lot of exploring to do." With that final remark, the girls head off to bed.   
  
  
Annie awoke in the middle of the night by the sound of whimpering. She turned her head and noticed the noise was coming from Roxanne, who was tossing and turning in her sleep. Annie sat up in her bed rubbing her eyes, "Hey Roxanne?" Annie could tell she hadn't heard and figured she'd have to wake her up. She raised her tone, "Roxy wake up." Yet still Roxanne refused to stir. Annie stood next to her bed and shook her lightly, "Roxy?"   
  
Roxanne's eyes popped open unaware of her surroundings. She jumped out of bed, violently grabbed Annie's shoulders, and slammed straight into the floor. "ROXY!" she screamed, as she looked into her dark menacing eyes that were full of hate. The lights popped on in the room, as Matt rushed in worried. There was his daughter Roxanne Trakker with her fist in the position over Annie Turner ready to give a final powerful blow.   
  
Roxanne stood there shaking as she looked at a terrified Annie. Her scream had snapped her out of her nightmare, yet she could of killed her. "I'm…I'm…sorry…what…what have I done," She spoke in a quivering voice as tears fell from her eyes.  
  
Matt hastily moved towards his daughter and helped her off Annie, "Annie are you ok? Did she hurt you?"  
  
Annie was still trying to make heads or tails of the situation, "I'm fine. Really she just startled me big time."  
  
Matt had a protective arm around Roxanne who was mumbling, "I thought it was him…"  
  
"I know," He said believing her ever word. He turned to the doorway where Scott and T-bob were observing the situation, "Scott I want you to stay with Annie." Scott nodded as Matt took Roxanne into his room.  
  
Scott notice Annie was confused, "It's not the first time she's had bad nightmares."  
  
"You call that a nightmare. I looked into her eyes and saw a person I didn't even know," Annie grabbed a glass of water trying to forget the incident ever happened. "Who did she think I was?"   
  
Scott knew better then reveal Roxanne's true secret, "The man who killed her mother is the same man who abused her, before she started living with us."  
  
Annie felt some sympathy towards Roxanne after hearing the truth. Oh! No wonder dad said she led a troubled life. I couldn't even imagine... Annie's thought's drifted, and it wasn't until she saw splashes in her water glass that she realized she was crying.   
  
"Annie? You okay?" Scott sat down beside her on the bed and casually draped a comforting arm around her shoulders.  
  
She quickly wiped the tears away. "Yeah...just a bit of delayed reaction shock I guess." Annie let her head rest on his shoulder a moment as she looked up at him. "Kinda makes you grateful for what we have, doesn't it? Our lives certainly aren't perfect, but we have supportive people who love us."  
  
"So does Roxy if she'd just open up a bit more," Scott agreed softly.  
  
"Well then, you and I are just going to have to make that a priority now, aren't we?" Annie grinned as she laid back on the bed.  
  
Matt's son smiled back, "Yep. We are." Then he yawned. "Starting tomorrow."  
  
"You two really should go back to sleep," piped in T-Bob's voice from the other end of the room.  
  
Annie nearly jumped back off the bed since she hadn't noticed the little robot follow Scott in. She gave T-Bob a cursory glance. She spent so much time up in the mountains in completely natural surroundings that the robot's presence sometimes unnerved her a little. She shook it off and said to Scott with a sly grin, "Guess you're bunking with me tonight."  
  
He blushed and quickly launched over to Roxanne's bed. Annie laughed softly. "Relax, it's no different than when I stay in the cabin with Jesse and Cody. Separate rooms aren't much different than seperate beds. Besides if Roxy comes back, T-Bob can wake you up."  
  
Scott rolled over before she could embarrass him further. "Night Annie."  
  
"Night Scott." Before she could tease him any further, she was asleep.  
  
  
The next morning Roxanne came up to Annie confessing, "I'm really sorry about last night. I really don't know what came over me. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"  
  
Annie looked into Roxanne's concern eyes; they were different from last night. She knew she hadn't meant the attack, but she also realized there was more to Roxanne then anybody was letting on, "I understand." Annie smiled letting no prejudice show, "I want us to stay friends, so I do forgive you. I know you didn't mean it."  
  
Roxanne hugged Annie, "Your the only friend I've had in a long time. I'd hate to lose you over this."  
  
Annie returned the hug, "It takes a lot more then that to send me running. Remind me to tell you some of my horror stories from up in the mountains. Although I am curious...where did you learn to attack like that?"  
  
"I got it off the streets. A girl got to protect herself somehow."   
  
Annie considered her next statement carefully, wavering for a moment. In the end, she decided to try and pursue the opening. "I'd be willing to listen if you wanted to talk about it," she said with what she hoped was a warm smile. "I know now is probably a bad time, but...well...the offer is open ended."  
  
Annie waited for Roxanne's reply, but she simply avoided the statement, remarking as she grabbed Annie's hand, "Come on lets get breakfast. I'm starved."  



	6. War Fields: Chapter 6

Author's Note: More thanks to Harry for all his kind reviews! :) If you think Lisa and I are evil now, you really aren't going to like us by the end of the story! :) Keep reading and reviewing!

  
  
War Fields: Chapter 6

  
Brad and Buddy entered the hotel about 9am yawning. They both did a quick surveillance of the city and contacted a few anonymous sources regarding VENOM's whereabouts. Matt had been waiting by the front desk all morning for them to arrive. Buddy and Brad took note that Matt didn't look like he had gotten any sleep at all. Buddy asked, "You want to debrief now?"   
  
Matt shook his head, "No after breakfast. Brad I need to talk to you."  
  
"Did something happen to Annie?" Brad noticed the concern look on Matt's faced and feared the worst possible scenario. Buddy was going to head for breakfast, but Brad's question sparked a sudden interest to know as well.  
  
Matt was hoping to keep this between him and Brad, but at this point the rest of the team probably already knows about it. "Annie is fine. I assure you," Matt took a long pause before continuing, "I thought it best you hear it from me, before you hear anything from Annie. Roxanne had a nightmare last night, which cause her to attack Annie."  
  
"WHAT!?" Brad and Buddy spoke in unison with such disbelief.  
  
"Roxanne didn't do it on purpose, she didn't realize what she was doing, until Annie snapped her out of it. I assure you thankfully nobody got hurt," Matt continued to reassure Brad, "She'll be staying in my room for the rest of the mission, to prevent this from happening again."  
  
Brad rushed pass Matt and into the restaurant where everyone was dining in, "Annie?" He wanted to look at her; he needed to be reassured she was ok. Matt's words were never good enough to satisfy him.   
  
Annie sat between Scott and Roxanne and waved to her father, "Dad over here!"  
  
Brad notice Roxanne turned away avoiding eye contact. It was obvious she was embarrassed about the situation. His full attention then went to his daughter, who looked just as beautiful as he had left her. The only thing remotely out of place was that she was wearing her long hair loose instead of in her typical braid.   
  
"So you find anything out, dad?" Annie asked with curiosity.  
  
"We got enough to start out with," Brad remarked. "Did you sleep well?" It was almost as if everyone's eyes were upon Annie expecting her to retell the horrors.  
  
"Slept like a baby," Annie replied with a smile, and then gave Roxanne a slight wink.  
  
_She lied to me! I can't believe it!_ Brad stood there uncertain if he should accuse her on the spot, or just go along with her. He then sat down at the table realizing he should trust his daughter's judgment, "Alright then let's eat then."  
  
Brad managed to actually eat his breakfast and maintain an outward air of calm while his inward thoughts were in turmoil. He was seriously starting to regret his decision to let Annie come along. Not twenty-four hours into their mission, and the threats weren't even coming from VENOM. Now he remembered why he left her in the expert care of Jesse Hawkes and the other Rangers. He knew that they would take care of her and that she would be safe. Moreover, he knew he wouldn't be taking the chance of having his concentration split between the current mission and worrying about her. He found himself wondering how Matt was able to do it.  
  
A kick from underneath the table jolted him. Brad narrowed his eyes as he looked around the table for the culprit, immediately ruling out Scott and Roxanne, one of which was too far away and the other STILL wouldn't so much as look at him. Buddy seemed engrossed in his own breakfast, so that left only one other person at the table. His daughter shot him a pointed look out of the corner of her eye as she finished the last few bites of her own breakfast. He had to have been staring at her...again. He returned the sidelong glance with one that said: "We'll talk about this...later."  
  
Before Brad could settle back into his thoughts, Dusty entered the restaurant. The southern man tipped Annie's chair back and gave her a hug right around the back of it.   
  
"Hello, Darlin' " Dusty drawled in his best Conway Twitty impression. Annie blushed and giggled as he added, "How was breakfast?"  
  
"Not as good as your cooking," she replied smoothly.   
  
"How'd ya sleep?"  
  
Roxanne's fork forcefully crashed into her plate. "You know, I'm not as hungry as I thought." Before anyone could reply, she bolted out the door. Without thinking, Scott quickly followed.  
  
Brad watched Annie's gaze flicker from Roxanne's exit back to the rest of the table. Her eyes and tone were deceptively calm. "You guys are absolutely incorrigible."  
  
She received a collective innocent glance of "Who, us?" in reply.  
  
"I'm really not the one you should all be worried about." Annie stood up and gave Brad a small hug before she left as well.  
  
"She sure could say that again," Dusty agreed. "You sure her and Roxy bein' friends now is such a hot idea, Brad?"  
  
Buddy replied before he could. "If there was ever a time Roxy needed a friend, it's now. I wouldn't worry too much about Annie...she's got a big heart."  
  
"Yeah, and I don't aim to see it broke, either," Dusty growled protectively. "If that girl so much as lays a finger on her..."  
  
Brad cleared his throat, unable to suppress a small smile. "Ahem, isn't that MY line?"  
  
The three MASK agents looked around the table at each other and then laughed as they returned to their breakfast.   
  
  
  
Brad quickly finished and set out to look for the girls, before Matt came looking for him. He caught a glimpse of Roxanne entering the ladies' room in the hotel's lobby and praised his luck. She thankfully hadn't seen him so all he had to do was wait for her to come out. It didn't take long.  
  
"Hey," he said to her, catching her arm in a soft, yet firm, grip before she could bolt. "I'm not mad at you. More importantly, Annie isn't mad at you."  
  
Roxy just stared up at him.  
  
"Let me put this into perspective for you," Brad said, trying a different angle. "My daughter has never, EVER, lied to me...not even the little childish white ones. But back in the restaurant just now, she lied to me, to my face, to save you from being embarrassed."  
  
"It didn't help now did it?" Roxy growled back. "Everyone still knows."  
  
"Well, they didn't hear it from Annie," Brad countered, releasing Roxy's arm since he had her attention, "and that means a lot to her. It means enough for her to lie to me, which is something she knows I won't tolerate."  
  
Roxy simply folded her arms and looked at him, unconvinced.   
  
He continued anyway. "I would have called her on it right then and there, but I trust her judgment. If she says everything is fine, then everything must be fine. I still need to go talk to her, but I wanted to talk to you first. Besides," he added with what he hoped was his most winning smile, "you can't avoid me forever. There's still a matter of a certain set of concert tickets..."  
  
With that, he left her alone.  
  
  
It didn't take Brad long at all to find Annie. She was exactly where he thought she'd be...back in her hotel room with her nose stuck in a book. He stood in the doorway of the adjoining suite across from Matt's, watching her for what he thought was only a few moments, until she spoke.  
  
"For crying out loud, Dad, would you PLEASE stop staring at me like I'm going to disintegrate at any moment!" She marked the page of the book she was reading and set it down so she could glare at him more fully.  
  
It was the closest Annie had ever come to outright defiance, and Brad got the closest he had ever come to outright yelling at her. "That's a dangerous tone you've taken with me, young lady, and we haven't even discussed the outright lie you told me back in the restaurant."  
  
She softened her tone, but not her glare or the emotional content. "What exactly was I supposed to say?! 'Well, actually Dad, I slept horribly because my new best friend woke up in the middle of a nightmare and nearly killed me.' ?" Her tone became more accusatory. "And it was obvious when you walked in that you knew, so you should have never asked, or at least had the courtesy to bring it up in private!"  
  
"You have me there," Brad admitted with a sigh, as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously. He walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I was so worried, I just said the first thing that came out of my mouth…as usual."   
  
Annie sighed deeply, and half smiled at him. "Man, I can't lie to you, I can't argue with you...what kind of a teenager am I?"  
  
He couldn't help but grin back at her. "One of a kind, dear, one of a kind." There was a little bit of an awkward silence before he asked, "You're sure you're okay?"  
  
"Dad, I'm fine," she answered in exasperation. "Sure, I was scared at first, but after Matt intervened I was more scared for Roxy than myself. There's nothing to worry about now since she'll be sleeping in Matt's room for the duration."  
  
_I'll always worry, _Brad thought as he pulled her close. "I can't help but worry about you. If anything happened to you, I'd never forgive myself."  
  
Annie looked up at him and said firmly, "Stop worrying. You can't afford to worry about me right now. Your concentration might slip during your mission, then something would happen to you, and then *I* wouldn't be able to forgive myself."  
  
A polite cough from the doorway interrupted their conversation. "I hate to interrupt, but we are conducting an investigation here," Buddy said flippantly.  
  
Brad looked down at his daughter one last time. "Promise me you'll stay safe."  
  
"Promise me you won't worry."  
  
Neither really answered the other, they just hugged one last time before Buddy coughed again.  
  
"Good luck boys," Annie said as the two agents walked out the door.   
  
Before she even had time to miss her father, Scott and Roxanne walked back into the room. "So," Annie asked, as though nothing had happened that morning, "what's on the agenda for today?"  



	7. War Fields: Chapter 7

War Fields: Chapter 7  
  
  
Roxy, Annie, and Scott sat back enjoying the waterways of Venice in a gondola, while T-bob steered the boat down the channel. The teenagers quietly engulfed the beautiful surroundings, of course Scott spend most the time starring at Annie, who was oblivious to Scott. She looked gorgeous with her red hair down and those green eyes just made his heart melt. Even though it was a rarity for Scott to see Annie, he silently had a crush on her all his life. Comforting her last night had made him realized this even more. _Oh Annie, if only we had this boat to ourselves. Then I'd show you the most beautiful parts of this city, of course none of it could compare to you. _  
  
Scott's daydream was soon interrupted by T-bob singing, "Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream…"  
  
"T-Bob, Knock it off! This is suppose to be relaxing, not painful," Scott shouted.  
  
"Yeah no kidding. We'll be merrily dunking your head in the river, until your circuits give in," Roxanne added.   
  
She noticed her brother seemed slightly more annoyed at T-Bob than normal. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scott looking wistfully at the back of Annie's head and suddenly realized why. Roxanne gave him a playful elbow in the shoulder and a wicked grin that said 'I know'. Then she turned back to Annie.  
  
"Speaking of relaxing," Roxanne pulled out a packet of cigarettes, "You want one Annie?"  
  
Annie shook her head knowing better, "No thank you, I like my lungs just the way they are. And you really shouldn't do that it's not good for you."  
  
Roxanne shrugged lighting a cigarette up, "Some times doing the wrong things in life, are the best things that can happen to you. After all you only live once a friend told me, so it's better to risk it all. "  
  
Annie simply shook her head and snickered. "I had a friend tell me that there's a fine line between risk and stupidity and to learn the difference."  
  
"Where did you get those?" T-bob yelled in annoying tone, interrupting the two girls.  
  
"Hotel gift shop. They don't card in this country, so get off my back," Roxanne blew smoke in T-bob face. "If you tell dad, you won't be coming home at all," She threatened. T-bob just turned his head showing his dissatisfaction to that remark.  
  
"So Annie where do you want to go?" Scott asked.  
  
She looked at her two friends, "Well I'm not really certain. I've never been in a foreign country before. I've never even been outside the Lower 48."  
  
Roxanne nudged her, "I know what you want to do." She pulled out her father's credit card, "Shopping!"  
  
"YEAH, that sounds like loads of fun! I'd love to get my dad a souvenir or two," Annie remark.  
  
"Don't forget to get something for yourself," She winked.  
  
Scott just sat back groaning, "Shopping? Oh come on we could go see a boat show."  
  
"All those who want to go shopping raise a hand," Roxy remarked followed by both girls raising their hands. "Two against one Scott."  
  
"Hey I have T-bob so were even," Scott snapped thinking he out smarted her.  
  
"Well T-bob don't count, cause he isn't even living," she stuck her tongue out at him. "It's not my fault you got listed as the OFFICAL babysitter."  
  
"Come on, Roxy, babysitter is such a harsh word," Annie soothed. "We're teenagers, we don't have babysitters."  
  
"What do we have, then?" Roxy asked, slightly annoyed that Annie took Scott's side.  
  
Annie thought a moment. "We have a chaperone. Yeah, I like that better...it's so much more mature." She turned warm, sparkling green eyes on Scott, enhancing every bit of her next question with all of the normal Turner charm. "So how about it, Mr. Trakker? Would you like to chaperone while we shop?"  
  
"Uhhhh...." was all Scott could manage to say. He felt his heart skip three or four beats, and after a few moments, he had to remind himself to breathe. He suddenly felt very warm as Annie's intense green eyes still rested on him, waiting for his answer. _She has absolutely NO idea what she's doing to me... I can see how she has Brad completely wrapped around her little pinky._  
  
"Scott it's not going to be that bad," Annie added hoping to lift his sprits up, "We can go to the boat show afterwards, right Roxy?" Roxanne regretfully nodded.  
  
  
  
Two people wearing masks entered a church in San Marco Square in Venice. The Basilic of San Marco was best known for holding the treasure of Venice, the altar known as Pala d'Oro. A collector would pay millions for such a precious piece of history, or so Mayhem put it more money then you could possible fathom. Several people were lined up in the church, to admire the extensive artwork on the altar. Cliff Dagger pushed thru the people violently and yelled loudly, "OUT OF MY WAY! THIS EXHIBIT IS CLOSED!"  
  
The security guard guarding the exhibit approach the muscle man, "What's the meaning of this? Mistier is this a prank?"  
  
Vanessa crossed her arms, "I don't think these people understand our language Dagger."  
  
"I SAID THIS PLACE IS CLOSED FOR EXTENSIVE REMODLING." Dagger shouted.  
  
"We know of no such thing," the guard replied.  
  
"TORCH ON!" He aimed for the nearby wooden benches that instantly went up in flames. People started to run out in a wide spread panic. Even the guard didn't stick around, after witnessing the power the mask held. Cliff Dagger smiled at the smell of fear and burning wood, "That was easy."  
  
Vanessa ignored Dagger's gloating over his ego, and radioed Mayhem in Switchblade, "The church is cleared. Blow the roof."  
  
Switchblade hovered over the church in helicopter mode. Mayhem locked his missiles on the church's roof and blew a decent size hole into its fragile structure. The explosion was loud and could be seen for miles; therefore, Vanessa and Dagger had to work fast. Debris from the roof fell instantly on impact. "WHIP ON," Vanessa shouted, as she used the energy whip, to throw the debris across the room to protect the altar.   
  
Cliff Dagger ducked as one piece of the roof nearly knocked him in the head, "Hey watch where you're throwing that crap!" Vanessa ignored his comment; she had more important things to focus on. Immediately afterwards, Mayhem lowered a platform attach to Switchblade thru the hole. Once lowered down, Dagger attempted to pick up the altar and move onto the ramp, yet he only mange to move it a few inches, before breaking out in a sweat.  
  
Vanessa shouted irritated as she focus on the entrance, "HURRY UP DAGGER! The cops will be here soon."  
  
Cliff Dagger huffed as he continued to slowly move the altar onto the platform, "This thing is heaver then I predicted."  
  
"You told us you could lift it, when we calibrated the weigh! We told you that Bruno would help you, but nooo you had to be a damn hot shot and say you could do it by yourself!" She argued annoyed. Just typical guy, trying to bite off more then he can chew and being a show off!   
  
"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG!?" Mayhem boomed over the radio, expecting the job to be completed.  
  
"Dagger having trouble getting it on the platform," Vanessa unfortunately added.   
  
"There I got it. Told you I didn't need him." Dagger huff again wishing he could take a break, after the heavy lifting.  
  
Unfortunately while Vanessa and Dagger were securing the altar to the platform, two policemen entered into the room with their guns aimed on the VENOM agents. "GET AWAY FROM THERE!" replied one of the officers.  
  
"I'll handle them," was her reply to the officer's request. Bruno gave Mayhem thumbs up to pull him up, while Vanessa stepped off the platform to approach the guards.  
  
"WE SAID BOTH OF YOU, OVER HERE!" the other officer replied uncertain if he should be scared of a woman who hid her face behind a mask.   
  
As Switchblade started to pull up the platform, one the officer's guns followed it and fired. Dagger hung onto the ramp tightly, grunting and cussed loudly as one shot hit him straight in the arm. "WHIP ON," Vanessa shouted pissed off. The electric whip slash the guns out of the both men's hands in one swipe, causing both to hold their hands in a great deal of pain. "That was a big mistake," she headed over the first officer spin kicking him in the gut sending him flying across the room unconscious. The second guard try to run away, but Vanessa used her mask to make the electric whip wrap around the guy's throat dragging him back towards her gagging, "Where you going the fun not over yet." She dropped the officer right at her feet, grabbed his hair, and slammed his head into the floor, then elbowed him in the back of the neck, rendering him unconscious. She knew better then to stick around and headed out of the church. Just as she exited she notice four more officers heading in her direction. She radioed Rax as she started running, "Rax I got people on my tail, I need a pick up, NOW!"  
  
Rax spoke in his sly clam down, "Alright…alright kept your shirt on will ya. I can't drive to you, they blocked the streets off the instant they heard the explosion. I'll have to take a water rout then. There's a bridge 1 block north, 2 blocks east from your location on my map. I'll be right there!"  
  
Nice to know he has nothing to worry about. She continued to run for her life with several more police officers heading behind her in a massive marathon, "Try to catch me boys!"  
  
  
Scott and T-bob held several bags in their hands, while the girls walked in front of them still talking about the outfits they just bought. T-bob huff trying to keep his grip on all the bags, "I swear just wait until their fathers get their credit card bills, this is ridiculous." Scott just laughed knowing as soon as they reach the hotel they'd both be busted. Well, Roxy would anyway...Scott had a feeling Brad would just shrug Annie's frivolity off because she didn't travel much.  
  
Vanessa Warfield ran right thru Scott and T-bob pushing them out of her way. Due to the amount of weight, they both lost their balance and fell to the ground with the bags pilling on top of them. Vanessa then violently pushed thru Roxy and Annie, just causing them to stager sideways a tad.  
  
"That was rude! I swear some people are always in a rush," Annie said watching the woman in a mask running away from them.  
  
"Vanessa?" Roxanne spoke in a whisper, as she stood there slightly dumb founded.  
  
Vanessa crossed over a bridge, and then jumped off the middle of it. Below was the sidecar of Piranha waiting for her with Rax in it. She landed on the front of the sidecar looking irritated at Rax sitting in the one seat sidecar, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO GET A BOAT!"  
  
"Hey you didn't give me time to get one," he answered, "Were just going to have to share the seat."  
  
"NO WAY IN HELL AM I SITTING IN YOUR LAP!" Vanessa shouted as she clung to the front window. "Just get us out of here!" Piranha took off with Vanessa holding on to the front, as it speed off down the waterway. The police stop at the bridge and stood there dazed as she took off in the small purple boat.  
  
Roxanne grabbed Annie and dragged her into a nearby speedboat, "COME ON! We have to find out what VENOM up to!"   
  
The vision of the woman in the mask finally caught up to Annie's brain. Too stunned to protest or resist, Annie just let Roxanne drag her into the boat, it wasn't until the boat speed up that she realized Roxanne's true motive.  
  
"HEY!" Scott yelled trying to get the bags off himself and follow them. Unfortunately, it was too late the girls took off in the speedboat. He search around, but the girls took the only speedboat, "T-BOB MOTOR SCOOTER MODE."  
  
T-bob instantly transform into a motor scooter, "What about all this crap?"  
  
"Forget it. If those girls get in trouble, we'll both be in deep shit," Scott remark as he got on T-bob. "Now stop stalling and follow along the water. We have to catch up to them."  
  
Vanessa looked up and noticed a white speedboat trailing them in the distance, "Were being followed!"  
  
"No kidding!" Rax remark checking his radar, "Let's see if I can lose them, you better hang on tighter." Piranha continued to speed up and swerved around obstacles to distract the other boat. Roxanne just laughed as she was having the time of her life chasing after Piranha, as if it were a game of tag.   
  
"Roxy!" Annie shouted over the boat's engines. "Are you crazy?! Those are VENOM agents we're chasing!"  
  
"I know who we're chasing!" Roxy yelled, the heat of the moment making her secret slip out. "I want to see what they're up to. I know I'm not suppose say anything to you, don't know why, but I used to work for VENOM!"  
  
"YOU WHAT?!?" Annie screamed into her ear. Before she could stop the words from spilling out, she added, "Then you probably know that Vanessa Warfield's my mother!"  
  
"WHAT?!?" Roxy nearly lost control of the boat as she heard what Annie said. "Did you just say Vanessa is your MOTHER!?" She asked as she regains control and tried to stay focus while driving the boat.  
  
"Yeah!" She said meaning every word of it.  
  
"Well this will be very interesting when we catch up to them," Roxy remarked trying not to let the news effect her driving.  
  
"This is nuts!" Annie yelled vehemently. "I don't WANT to catch up with them! We still have time to turn around! Scott can radio for help on T-Bob, and we can let our parents handle this!"  
  
No reply. Annie was starting to panic. Now that the moment of truth was upon her, she found she had NO desire to be any closer to Vanessa Warfield than she was previously. "ROXY! Are you even listening to me!?!"  
  
Her only reply was the acceleration of the boats engine.  
  
Scott and T-bob were trailing far behind the girls. "Umm Scott," T-bob said nervously.  
  
"What? Were almost gaining on them!" Scott said with such confidence.  
  
"We just ran out of road," T-bob yelled as he came to a sudden stop. The two watch in the distance as the two boats left the vicinity of the city and headed out into the countryside.  
  
"Then we'll just have to take another route, turn around, and go back. They'll stop somewhere along that river. I know they will," Scott said trying to think positive. _Please don't do anything stupid Roxy.  
_  
  
"I thought you said you'd lose them!" Vanessa shouted at Rax.  
  
"Who ever this is, sure knows how to drive a boat. Once I lure them out more, I'll fire a torpedo that will handle them for sure," Rax said with reassurance.   
  
"There slowing down," Roxy said with suspicion, "something is up."  
  
"What do you mean," Annie said with slight nervousness in her voice.  
  
"Ummmm Annie," She forcefully grabs Annie's arm, "ABANDON SHIP!"  
  
Annie's eyes widen as she saw a torpedo in the water heading in their direction. Before she could react, Roxanne pushed her into the water. The two girls swam their hearts out trying to put as much distance from the boat as possible. The boat exploded instantly as the torpedo hit, several burning pieces went flying thru the air and landed around the girls. Roxanne ducked underwater to avoid being hit and swam back up the surface, "Well wasn't that fun, Annie?" She looked around in the water panicking that she couldn't find Annie anywhere, "ANNIE! WHERE ARE YOU?" She dived back in searching thru the water for signs of her in the murky water. Her first attempt she failed miserably and was force to come back up for air. She then dived back down, and this time was able to see her drifting to the bottom. Roxanne wrapped her arm around Annie and pulled her to the surface. "Oh God ANNIE Don't do this to me!" She cried as she swam the unconscious Annie Turner to the mainland. Roxanne tried to pull Annie out of the water, but felt considerable weak. Once she dragged her up on shore, Roxanne started to perform mouth to mouth. Annie coughed up some water and started to breathe regularly, which relieved Roxanne greatly, yet she was still unconscious. Annie had a nasty gash on her head, which meant some of the debris knocked her out cold. Roxanne just laid next to Annie coughing up water herself and thinking her life was about to come to an end.   
  
Two figures then overshadowed her with rather disappointing looks on their faces. "Roxy, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING! GOSH YOU COULD OF GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED!" Rax shouted looking straight down at her.  
  
"You know me I can't resist saying hello," She sits up then looks to Vanessa expecting her to show some compassion, "Annie needs help."  
  
Vanessa looked down at Annie. This was the first time she had seen her in 16 years and the similarities were beyond apparent. She spoke in a cold commanding tone "We can't help you, unless you go as a hostage."  
  
Roxanne wasn't keen on the idea that meant confronting Mayhem. Well that is unless she escapes before it gets to that point. "But she's your daughter, can't you make an exception for once?" She pleaded to Vanessa.  
  
Rax looked to Vanessa, "Whoa, she's yours?" He points to the red head girl, "Come to think of it, you two do look kind of similar."  
  
"We'll see Roxy," Vanessa left that undecided as she helped Roxanne off the ground. Rax picked up Annie lifeless body into his arms carefully.  
  
Vanessa scolds Rax, "If you tell anyone. I will personally kill you."  
  
Rax smiled, "Well your secret safe with me at a cost. Don't worry I won't let any of the guys touch her either." Vanessa didn't want know what he meant by a cost, instead the she lead their new hostages back to base.   



	8. War Fields: Chapter 8

War Fields: Chapter 8  
  
  
  
Vanessa led Roxanne down a dark, dank hallway and opened the door to a rather bare bones looking cell. After she ushered the younger girl in, she slammed the door forcefully and whirled on her.   
  
"What in the HELL were you thinking back there?!" Vanessa hissed angrily, keeping her voice low enough that the conversation wouldn't drift outside those walls. Completely taken aback, Roxanne just blinked worried blue eyes at her. Vanessa continued her rant. "Never mind...I can tell by your expression that you obviously WEREN'T."  
  
"Vanessa...I--"  
  
"Don't you 'Vanessa' me!" The VENOM agent interrupted. "You have absolutely NO idea what you've just done!"  
  
"Vanessa, I didn't know!" Roxanne pleaded. "I honestly didn't until just now!"  
  
"Well now you know," Vanessa said flatly. "And thanks to you, now Rax knows. You're damn lucky that no one else knows."  
  
"Maybe...maybe you could just let her go," Roxanne suggested hopefully. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to kick herself for suggesting something so lame.  
  
Vanessa snorted. "In a foreign country? With a head injury? Riiiiigggghhht. She's safer here with us."  
  
"You could..." Roxanne gulped, unsure if she should even make the suggestion, but she had gotten Annie into this mess. "You could call Brad."  
  
If looks could kill, the one Vanessa shot Roxanne would have incinerated the younger girl on the spot. "How about I just put a big, flashing neon sign outside the base that says: 'VENOM is here!' ?" Vanessa suggested acidly. "That would have essentially the same effect. Not going to happen."  
  
"Well, what are you going to do, then?" Roxy asked worriedly.  
  
Vanessa ran her fingers through her darkly laced red locks. "I have no idea."  
  
"Well you have to do SOMETHING!" Roxanne shouted. "She's your DAUGHTER!"  
  
Vanessa's eyes turned to chunks of aquamarine ice. Roxy literally shivered as she caught the full force of her stare. "I am well aware of who SHE is. And right now, compared to you, that girl practically has Diplomatic Immunity. As long as Rax keeps his mouth shut, Mayhem isn't going to blink twice at her. I'd be a little more worried about myself if I were you."  
  
Roxanne winced as though Vanessa had actually slapped her. Vanessa saw a jolt of fear pass through the young girls eyes. _Good, _Vanessa thought with some satisfaction. _She's starting to see the trouble she's actually in._   
  
Before the scared look in Roxy's face could sway her anger, Vanessa turned on her heel and stormed out the door, carefully locking it behind her.  
  
  
She ran her fingers through her hair again as she walked back to her room. Of all the people in the United States, Roxanne Trakker had to make friends with HIS daughter. And of all the countries in the world, they just happened to be in this one. And of all the areas in the entire city of Venice, they just happened to be in THAT one. _Damnit,_ she cursed mentally. _Sixteen years. Sixteen years, and now THIS. Damn you, Roxy...and damn you Turner, for not keeping a better eye on your daughter.   
_  
Vanessa sighed deeply as she opened the door to her room. She shut it quickly when she found Rax inside, sitting in a chair with his feet propped up, gazing toward the general vicinty of her bed. Her eyes drifted to the bed and remained there a few minutes as she looked at the unconscious young girl lying in it. HIS daughter... _Annie,_ Vanessa reminded herself absently_...her name is Annie..._ lay there unmoving, long, red hair splayed over her pillow. Vanessa could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed, and other than looking exceptionally pale, the bandaged cut on her forehead was the only sign of injury. Vanessa let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, but not so much out of concern for the girl in front of her as for the rest of them if anything HAD happened to Annie.  
  
"Pulse is pretty strong...but it'll be a while before the kid wakes up," Rax said from beside her. His mood seemed contemplative. "When she does, it's gonna be with a splitting headache and a possible concussion."   
  
Rax looked over at Vanessa, who was still staring at her daughter and ignoring him. He got a wicked look on his face as he asked, "So who was the lucky stiff?"  
  
That got her attention. Rax waited for the slap that never came. Vanessa just blinked and glared in his direction. "None of your business."  
  
"If you want me to keep your secret, Vanessa, it'd be in your best interest to level with me," Rax replied as his eyes turned back to the girl on the bed.   
  
Something nagged at the back of his mind...her looks were very familiar. They were definitely Vanessa's, sure, but they were someone else's too, and Rax felt positive he should know whose. Then it finally hit him and he grinned wildly.  
  
"What's so funny?" Vanessa snapped.  
  
Rax shrugged innocently. "Obviously a little more rockin n' rollin going on than any of us realized." The look on Vanessa's face told him everything he needed to know. "And now I know where you were all those years ago."  
  
With immense willpower, Vanessa denied him the benefit of a reply, stating simply, "You better go check in with Mayhem."  
  
Rax stood and stretched, walking over to the door. "What about you?"  
  
"Tell him it's that time of the month, or something. I really could care less what you tell him, as long as you GET OUT," Vanessa growled, sitting down in the vacated chair.  
  
"Whatever you say, Vanessa," Rax replied sweetly as he left.  
  
As he made his way down to debrief VENOM's leader, he couldn't help but think about how some rock n' roll cowboy from MASK did something that the guys on this team could only fantasize about. _Well, Turner,_ Rax thought, _you are one lucky son of a bitch.  
_  
  
  
_This can't be happening!_ Scott repeated to himself, like a mantra in his head. _This isn't happening...this isn't happening...this isn't happening!!_ Unfortunately, the reality of the situation was otherwise. He and T-Bob had finally managed to double back along the waterways and find a route that caught up with the boat Roxy had taken, and Scott had remembered, even in his panicked state to ask T-Bob to map the route they were using in case they needed to backtrack again. Scott had realized a little too late that that wouldn't be necessary. He watched in shock and horror as Rax casually launched a torpedo from Piranha and blew the boat right out of the water.  
  
"NNNOOOOOOOOOO!" Scott hadn't realized he had screamed aloud and was running toward the water until he felt T-Bob's firm grip on his arms. "Nonononoonononono!"  
  
_Nononononononono...oh, god, please..._ He fell to his knees, T-Bob still gripping his shoulders. The two girls he loved the most in the world were gone, and it was HIS fault. He was supposed to keep an eye on them, protect them. His dad had trusted him with that task, but more importantly so had Brad. Everyone knew that the teams rock n' roller had a tendency to let his feelings get in the way, and never more so than where Annie was concerned. _When he finds out what happened...and when Dad finds out about Roxy...they'll blame me for not doing something.... and it'll be true! Oh god, how am I going to live with myself?!? Roxy, why couldn't you for once have thought of someone other than yourself?!?_  
  
"...get help! Scott! Scott!" interjected T-Bob's worried computer voice.  
  
Scott stared at his robotic friend through tear streaked blurs. "Motor scooter mode," he requested softly, pulling himself off the ground. T-Bob quickly obliged as Scott got on. "Find Dad," was all the young boy could manage to say.  
  
  
They found the MASK team in San Marco Square, in a church filled with debris from its collapsed roof. Scott noted detachedly that this must have been VENOM's objective all along...something inside the church. As T-Bob stopped outside and transformed back to his robotic self, Scott hoped that he could just find his father, explain what happened, and go back to the hotel without ever laying eyes on Brad Turner. He'd never be able to bring himself to tell Brad that his daughter was... _No, _said the still rational part of him. _You can't think like that.   
_  
As fate would have it, the active agents just happened to gather outside for an impromptu debriefing as Scott appeared. He caught his father's eye momentarily and hoped he would approach him alone. But fate wasn't willing to be that kind. Scott's look was intercepted by Brad, who glanced over in his direction, and then did a double take when the expression on Scott's face told him everything. He ate up the distance between himself and Scott in what seemed like two impossibly long strides, at least through Scott's eyes. Matt and the rest of their group quickly followed.  
  
Scott knew he was dead when Brad removed his shades and transfixed him with the full force of his tumultuous eyes. "What....happened....?"   
  
He found it oddly amazing how much emotional content could be expressed in two words. Brad was using the same dangerously calm voice Scott had heard his father use on many occasions. The same voice that usually heralded dire consequences for any reply other than the absolute truth. Scott took a very deep breath before he launched into his explanation. _ Buck up Scott, and be a man. If you're going to be an agent one day, you're gonna have to learn how to deal with this._  
  
"We were shopping...all of us...and we were almost finished...I mean, I think the girls were almost finished..." _You're babbling, Scott, get to the point quickly and just get it over with._ "...anyway, we were walking when someone pushed through us. T-Bob and I had all their stuff...a lot of it too..." _Babble!_ pointed out his rational side as he continued. "...and we fell. When we got back up, we saw that it was..." he paused, closing his eyes, "...it was Vanessa. And the girls...well, they chased after her..."  
  
"Wait a minute here, there ain't no way Annie'd go within any kinda radius of *THAT* woman!" Dusty interjected heatedly. The way he spit out 'that woman' made it sound like an epithet in and of itself. "You mean that ROXY went chasin' after her and dragged Annie along for the ride! I knew that girl was trouble, I knew it!"  
  
"Dusty..." Matt warned softly, turning back to his son. "Go on, Scott."  
  
Scott glanced over at Brad. Aside from eyes that blazed with cold fury, his expression was completely unreadable. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, and Scott knew he was going to explode at any moment. Especially after what was coming next.  
  
"They took a boat that was docked into the water 'cause Rax had picked Vanessa up in Piranha. I wanted to chase after them...but there wasn't another boat around, so T-Bob and I had to stick to the shore. All those ducts and waterways were so convoluted I had to have T-Bob map the area so we didn't get lost... By the time we got back to where we could see them...they were too far out...and then..." Scott closed his eyes again. He wouldn't be able to stand the looks on their faces when he told them the rest. Here it comes. "...then Rax torpedoed their boat."  
  
Dead silence hung in the air...until Brad's cork blew.  
  
"DAMN HER!" He exploded violently. "DAMN HER TO BLOODY HELL!"  
  
No one was sure whether he was referring to Annie, Roxy, or Vanessa, and no one dared to ask. Scott couldn't keep up the brave facade anymore...he began to shake. He felt his father's arms pull him into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I let you down...it's my fault," he sobbed as tears streamed down his face.  
  
"It's okay, Scott," Matt whispered softly, smoothing Scott's head of brown curls. "You did what you could, and you did the right thing in coming to find us. We'll find them..."  
  
"Damn right *I* will," Brad snapped as he stalked towards Condor. "And they damn well better be alive, or there is going to be HELL to pay. Let's go, Dusty."  
  
Without a moment's hesitation, the southerner began to follow.  
  
"Wait a minute..." Matt ordered.  
  
Dusty laid a comforting hand on Brad's shoulder as his back stiffened and his fists clenched. "DO NOT tell me to CALM DOWN, and DO NOT order me to STAY HERE, or I will turn around and lay you out right here, Trakker." He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and added icily. "The same goes for you, Hawkes."  
  
Buddy and Matt exchanged a glance, knowing it was going to be useless to argue. The MASK leader sighed in defeat. "All right...you win. But I want you back by nightfall, and THAT is an ORDER. I'm not loosing anyone else today. Buddy and I will finish up here and put word out on the street."  
  
"Fine." Brad's tone practically dripped icicles.  
  
Before anything else could be said, Condor and Gator were gone.  



	9. War Fields: Chapter 9

War Fields: Chapter 9

  
  
Annie threw her arm over her eyes in her habitual waking gesture. The guys at the Ranger Station thought it was so cute on the rare occasions they caught her napping on the couch in the rec room. At the moment though, Annie felt anything but cute...she felt downright ugly. Her head pounded so heavily, she thought it would fall off, and her stomach decided it wanted to compete by trying to twist her inside out. _Definitely NOT cute,_ she thought absently, as she scratched idly at her forehead only to discover the bandage on her temple. _A bandage....what the heck happened?_ She forced her mind to cooperate through the pain lancing through her skull so that she could come up with a coherent, if a little disjointed, sequence of events that led to her waking up with a Band-Aid on her forehead. _Let's see, there was breakfast...let's try NOT to remember that...my 'fight' with Dad, the gondola ride with Roxy and Scott, then I think we went shopping..._ Somewhere after shopping, her mind sprung on her the wave of what had happened next.  
  
"Oh God..."  
  
Annie shot bolt upright and regretted it immediately. The ceiling and the floor switched places at a really horrible forty-five degree angle, and the battle between her head and stomach raged on. She wasn't exactly sure how, but her stomach won as she suddenly found herself emptying out what little had been left in there. When she finished, she rested her head against the coolness of the toilet bowl that had magically appeared in front of her. Now that her stomach was satisfied, her head felt the need to work overtime.  
  
"Get up," ordered a raspy, female voice.  
  
"Oh god..." Annie said aloud as a knot tightened in her now empty stomach. Even though she'd never heard it before in her life, she KNEW who that voice belonged to.   
  
"He can't help you right now," continued the voice above her, "but I might. Now get up."  
  
Very, very slowly and very, very carefully, Annie climbed to her feet, looking anywhere but at Vanessa Warfield as she wobbled her way out into the other room. _Shut up, you,_ she told her aching head as she fell unceremoniously into the nearest piece of furniture, a rather beat up looking and ratty chair.  
  
"Here," Vanessa said gruffly, holding out a handful of tablets. "And stop pretending, because I know you're awake."  
  
Annie lifted her head off the arm of the chair, eyeing the tablets in Vanessa's hand dubiously. After a moment of thought, she decided that whatever was in those couldn't possibly have any worse effect than the drilling going on in her head now. Vanessa handed her a glass of water, and she quickly washed the tablets down. Annie was nothing, if not polite, even to her worst enemy, who may have just now drugged her. "Thanks," she muttered softly, expecting to lapse into oblivion at any moment.  
  
"It was just aspirin, in case you were wondering," Vanessa said, shattering Annie's illusion. She looked at her fully conscious daughter for the first time, noticing that she still looked very pale. She hoped Rax was wrong about the concussion, if only to save her some more effort, but she decided she'd better find out. "Look at me."  
  
When Annie didn't comply, Vanessa took her chin firmly in her hand, and tilted her head upward. Glassy green eyes met cool aquamarine for the first time, and Annie saw her own eyes looking back. Most of her characteristics were a unique blend of Brad and Vanessa both, but her eyes were definitely her mother's, she realized detachedly. Vanessa was currently giving her the same intense look that she knew she had given on occasion, as though she was searching for something. Either she found it, or she gave up, because she dropped Annie's chin and pronounced, "You'll live."  
  
"OH, well THAT'S good to know," Annie said sarcastically.   
  
Vanessa shot her a look. "You should have known better than to make friends with Roxanne Trakker. I'm surprised you're father didn't teach you better."  
  
Does she know? One way to find out... "He always goes for the bad girls. After all, he fell in love with you, didn't he?" Annie shot back.  
  
She'd scored a hit, judging by the surprised look on Vanessa's face, which was quickly replaced by cool neutrality. "That was his first mistake."  
  
Annie felt anger rising as the aspirin calmed the pounding in her head slightly. "Wait a minute...are you trying to blame HIM for this?"  
  
Vanessa shrugged casually. "If the shoe fits..."  
  
Annie's anger began to reach the boiling point. "Okay, so let's talk about your shoes. Where exactly were YOU all these years?" she snapped angrily. "I wouldn't criticize HIM when YOU weren't even THERE!"  
  
"It wouldn't have worked out," Vanessa stated in her coolly infuriating rasp.  
  
"YOU could have MADE it WORK!" Annie yelled back. "You had him wrapped around your little finger! You said jump and he asked how high! If you had asked him to pull the moon and a ring of stars out of the sky, he would have found a way to do it!" She paused, only to glare furiously at Vanessa. "The sad thing is, he still feels that way, and you don't even deserve it."  
  
"That's his problem, not mine." Despite her efforts to keep her cool, this girl was really beginning to make her angry.  
  
"Of course not," Annie snarled. "You just prefer to take advantage of it by stringing him along every chance you get, and letting him take the fall for all your little schemes!"  
  
CRACK! Annie's head snapped backward from the force of Vanessa's blow. Stars danced behind her eyes and the room around her turned into a dark haze. She clenched her fists and her teeth, determined not to give Vanessa the satisfaction of sending her into unconsciousness. When her vision finally cleared, she glared at Vanessa with eyes highlighted a feral orange by the flames dancing within them.  
  
Vanessa was on her way to the door when Annie spoke again. "Now I know what they mean when they say the truth hurts. Go ahead and beat me, Vanessa," she spit hatefully. "There isn't anything more you can do to hurt me than you have already."  
  
Vanessa yanked her bedroom door open, pulling Sly Rax inside. "Get HER out of HERE, NOW!"  
  
Annie was already on her feet, the adrenaline rush giving her a strength she knew she didn't possess. She laughed haughtily and casually walked over to the door. "Nice to know nothing's changed. Just get rid of me when I become too inconvenient."  
  
Another stinging slap caught Annie across the cheek, but this one didn't go unanswered. Vanessa never saw the return blow coming until she staggered back a few inches, a bright pink spot on her cheek beginning to bruise.  
  
"That's for the sixteen years of HELL you put my father through!"  
  
"Rax..." Vanessa growled dangerously.  
  
Sly Rax took Annie's arm in a firm grip. "Come on kid, you're not doin' yourself any favors."  
  
"Oh, like the ones she did for me?"  
  
Rax simply pulled her out the door, but Annie got off a few parting shots before they got far. "I'm really glad we could have this chat...MOM. Thanks for nothing."  
  
The slamming door was her only reply.  
  
  
  
Rax maintained his usual cool demeanor as he walked their second 'guest' back to her 'quarters', but inwardly he was crowing. _Kid's got as much spunk as her mother...no wonder Vanessa's so up in arms. She's finally met her match. Literally.   
_  
He stopped suddenly as Annie stumbled and fell against him. Watching her in action, he had practically forgotten about the blow to the head she'd taken. Apparently, so had she, until now. He didn't bother making her walk the rest of the way; he just scooped her up and carried her in an oddly generous fashion. Annie didn't resist or say anything; she just let Rax carry her back to the cell. For his part, Rax was trying to reconcile this odd, protective feeling that she was evoking in him. Yeah, he'd promised Vanessa he'd keep the other goons away from her, but this particular feeling went deeper than that. Maybe it was just because she WAS Vanessa's kid, even if she did hate her, and he did owe Vanessa a lot... He shook his head to clear it. _Don't get soft, Rax._  
  
He kicked the cell door open and deposited Annie onto the mattress on the floor as gently as he could. She blinked up at him as he spoke.  
  
"Listen kid, you just kinda changed the rules of the little game we play here," he said. "So the new rules are simple. You behave, and I keep the rest of the goons in this place, and Vanessa, outta here. Right now, I'm the only friend you've got."  
  
"Where's Roxy?" Annie asked suddenly, looking up at Rax with concern filled eyes.  
  
"Roxy's fine. Worry about yourself," Rax replied. "I left ya water and a bottle of asprin, a nice mattress, a pillow, and a blanket. I don't do that for just anyone. You get anything more than headaches, you let me know."  
  
Rax shut the door behind him, scratching his head and wondering why the hell he CARED.  
  
_Kind of a dark version of Dad,_ Annie thought absently as she watched Rax leave. _HEY!_ yelled Jesse Hawkes' voice into her head, almost making her jump up. _Don't you sympathize with a bunch of ruthless terrorists!_ said the retired Ranger's voice in her mind, exactly as he would have said it to her if he had been sitting here beside her. Thinking of him gave her a small amount of comfort as she laid down and closed her eyes, hoping the ache in her head would soon fade.   
  
  
Roxanne was in deep concentration, as she realized she was trapped. Bruno, Cliff Dagger, and Floyd Malloy all had her cornered, there was nothing else she could do but give in. "SHIT!" she uttered along with several other cuss words as she threw 5 cards in her hand face down, "I fold."  
  
"So who's the red head you picked up?" Bruno asks with a slight wicked smile.  
  
"Eh tourist. I needed a boat she just came with it," she snickered pretending to have no association with Anne.  
  
Floyd smiled greedily, "Ok guys show me what you got."   
  
Dagger had his right arm bandage up in a sling and constantly kept fumbling with his cards, "Uh…well two pairs."  
  
Bruno displayed a winning smiled as he revealed his cards, "Full House!"  
  
He was ready to reach out and grab his winnings in the center of the table, but Floyd gently placed his cards down, "4 of a kind." He proudly displayed four aces, "Read them and weep."   
  
Bruno sat back stunned he finally had a chance to win, but no Floyd mange to pull a fast one again. Dagger was more focus on his arm and kept babying his injuries. Meanwhile, Roxanne who was enjoying imported cigars and complimentary drinks from the fridge started to laugh out loud.  
  
The three men looked at her thinking she was off her rocker. "What's so funny?" Floyd asked. Roxanne picked up the hand she just folded to reveal two aces.  
  
Bruno stood up in a rage of fury that caused his chair to fall back, "You've been cheat'n us again!"   
  
"Hey I want my money back!" Dagger shouted.  
  
Floyd flash Roxanne a 'how could you' look. He knew he couldn't argue with two muscle men, instead he made a break for the door, with Bruno slowly tracing his footsteps from behind.   
  
She continued to laugh at Floyd display of cowardness. Cliff Dagger scratch his head, "I don't see what's so funny?"  
  
"He didn't cheat Bruno," she said trying to prevent Floyd from facing an unfortunate accident. "I just threw those in so I could get my cash back."  
  
"That was pretty sly," Bruno remarked in a calm down as he return to the table.  
  
"I hear somebody mention my name," Sly entered  
  
"Yeah, stop teaching your prodigy dirty card tricks," Bruno said a tad irritated. "It's impossible to go thru one game with out somebody cheating or backstabbing."  
  
"That's the whole point of poker, just be grateful you didn't lose any money," Rax put a hand on Roxy's shoulder showing his approval.  
  
Vanessa walked in with her hand pressed against her face still feeling the powerful sting her daughter had given her, "What the hell are you doing out of your cell? Does this look like a Holiday Inn?"  
  
"So what I let her out," Bruno argued, "It's not like Mayhem knows. He's too busy with that collector upstairs. I mean where is she going to go?"  
  
"And what's wrong with getting reacquainted and having some fun?" Dagger ask   
  
Vanessa could feel her nerves in her body exploding. This whole day had gone sour in a matter of hours. "You listen to me you BIG OAF, this is NOT suppose to be fun!"  
  
Dagger shouted with rage, "NO KIDDING Vanessa, you're the reason I got shot!"  
  
Roxanne rolled her eyes, Oh here were go again.  
  
"Our objective was to steal that altar at all cost, you getting shot is the least of my worries," Vanessa removed her protected hand from her cheek and pointed out Dagger's own flaws.  
  
Rax pulled up a chair and rubbed the back of his neck with disgust, "Haven't we had enough of this today?"  
  
Roxanne just sat back enjoying the free show, "Hey Vanessa where did you get that mark from?" Vanessa instantly put her hand back to her face. She had forgotten her daughter left a strong mark of her hatred pressed against her cheek.  
  
Once Roxy had pointed it out, the guys were begging to get a good look at it. "What that wimpy little girl hit you?" Bruno laughed hard with his hand resting over his stomach.  
  
Vanessa gritted her teeth hoping a lie could sway them, "I fell."  
  
The laugher didn't die; instead her lie had made it worst. Vanessa pulled out her hunter knife from her belt and slammed it into the card table. The laughter died, as Vanessa's vicious intentions became apparent, "I'm not in the mood! You want to find out how far you can push me!" The guys knew Vanessa's fiery hot temper was something never to mess with, especially when she pulled a knife. Cliff Dagger and Bruno left the room in a hurry not wishing to temp her any further.  
  
Roxanne observed Vanessa closely; she looked as though she needed time to cool down. I take it Annie didn't welcome Vanessa with open arm. _Why not? What is her problem? Shouldn't she be happy?_ "Do you want me to talk to her?" was all she could think of saying.  
  
Vanessa shook her head as she headed back off to her quarters, "Forget it. She made up her mind. She's not my problem."  
  
Roxanne could feel a sense of hurt deep down in Vanessa voice, even if she wasn't a person to show her weaknesses or admit them. _Maybe she never thought she'd have to face her, how could Annie be so cruel!_ She just held her fist tight. Vanessa was the closest thing to a mother, and she wasn't going to let anybody hurt her.  
  
  
Several hours later Annie awoke to several voices heading in her direction. Her eyes focused on Rax standing outside her cell with Roxy. She couldn't believe her ears, Roxanne was laughing. _How can she laugh at a time like this?!  
_  
"Next game, you have to get in on, then we'll find out who has the quicker hand," She elbowed Rax hoping he'd accept her challenge.   
  
"Your on," he manage to squeeze out, before his tone became more serious, "I meant it when I said that was the stupidest thing you've ever done."  
  
Roxanne looked at him confused in a blank statement, "It was just a game of cards?"  
  
"You know damn well I'm not talking about cards," he attempted to level is anger.  
  
"Well I always thought the stupidest was playing a game of chicken with MASK on my bike, compared to that this was just child play," She huffed as if it was no big deal. She then leaned up against the outside of cell and looked to Rax as if she was ready to confess her heart out. "No the stupidest thing I did was leave. Nobody appreciates me except you, Vanessa, and the guys. My dad and his friends hover over me as if I'm biggest mistake in their lives, but…"she pause for a moment glancing at Annie thinking she was still asleep," it was the right thing to do."  
  
He leaned up against the cell next to her, "I told you before that once your VENOM agent, you'll always be one. We would take you back in a heartbeat; you have more potential then most those pathetic soldiers Contra World lets us borrow. Of course Mayhem is a different story."  
  
She flinch slightly at the mention of his name, "That's why I can't."  
  
"Come on into your cell," Rax insisted holding the door open for her. Roxanne stepped inside with little hesitation, but after Rax locked the door he heeded her a warning, "Don't try anything stupid yet. She won't get you very far."  
  
Roxanne leaned on her cell's bars and glanced at Annie, after Rax had vanished. Since she was brought in, she spent so much time hanging around with old comrades that she nearly forgotten her friend's injuries. Annie was obviously awake she could tell after watching her movements, "Hey Annie you ok?"   
  
No response. Roxy waited a few moments and asked again, a little louder, "Annie, you ok?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," dripped a sarcastic reply from across the room, "were you actually talking to ME?"  
  
_She's mad_. With this realization, Roxanne did her best to be reasonable. "Yes I'm talking to YOU. Are you ok?"  
  
With this remark Annie hopped out of bed, giving Roxanne a look someone would give a small child who has just asked something really obvious. " 'Am I okay?' she asks," Annie repeated, petitioning some unseen force in the air. "As a matter of fact, Roxy, NO, I am definitely NOT OKAY. I've been sitting here for who knows how long with a killer headache amongst a group of ruthless terrorists and it's YOUR FAULT!"   
  
Roxanne expected her to be angry, but her temper seemed to rise with ever word she spoke.  
  
"Where have you been?" Before Roxanne could utter out a word, Annie face became more disgusted. _Why did I have to ask? I know where she's been._ All the evidence was laid out before her the mention of card games, the strong smell of smoke emitting from her clothing, and her confession of loyalty to VENOM. "Well, I certainly hope you had a REALLY NICE TIME, while I was sitting here rotting away."  
  
Roxanne eyes narrowed, she didn't like that tone one bit. She chose to sit back on her bed with her arms cross, "So what if I am. What's it to you? It's your own fault you got yourself thrown in here."  
  
"My fault?" Annie paused for a moment, stunned, but then recovered quickly. "Oh stupid me, you probably had so much fun just now that reality escaped you. As I recall it: YOU DRAGGED ME ONTO TO THAT BOAT! I TOLD YOU TO TURN AROUND, BUT YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN!"  
  
"Oh please," Roxanne rolled her eyes remaining calm, "If you would of held back your own temper, you and me probably could have been able to walk out the door as we speak. Why the hell did you hit Vanessa for?!"  
  
Annie shouted, "SHE HIT ME TWICE!"  
  
"Yeah well with your big mouth you probably deserved it," she remarked as if getting hit wasn't end of the world. "I saved your life, they patched you up, and this is how you repay my friends?"  
  
"Friends?" Annie voice shaken with insane laughter, "If you call a group of terrorist friends, then reality must have REALLY escaped you! TAKE OFF THE ROSE COLORED GLASSES, ROXY!! My mother abandoned me and wanted nothing to do with my life. She made that pretty clear and torments my father everyday of his life for fun. And the only reason she 'patched me up' is probably just to torment him further!"  
  
"Tormenting your father? Well unfortunately I must know your father a lot better then you do."  
  
"HOW DARE YOU!" If Annie could have reached Roxanne through the bars, she knew she would have throttled her right then and there. "NO ONE knows my father better than ME, NO ONE!"  
  
"Vanessa does, and two years ago he came to VENOM undercover to spend some long needed time with her," Roxanne threw into her face.  
  
"You're making that up!" Annie tried valiantly to convince herself Roxanne was lying through the pounding headache that returned en force.  
  
"Oh go ahead and believe what you like. Ask anybody here about Brad Turner's 3 month of employment with VENOM. The only person who had his back was Vanessa, cause everybody else wanted to kill him." Annie didn't want to believe it, yet her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Roxanne final remark, "At least your mother is alive, so be grateful for what you have. You didn't even give her a chance!"  
  
"Why should I? She didn't want me to begin with!" Annie huff as she sat back on her bed with her arms cross.  
  
"What the hell is all this racket!" a Contra World soldier stepped into the room investigating the yelling. The two girls remained silent and starred at each other with cold burning eyes of hatred. Neither bothered to throw a glance at the solider, which left after noticing the tension appeared to die down.  
  
Annie rolled over and faced the wall, closing her eyes against the insistent headache and the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She wanted to believe Roxy was lying about her father's stint in VENOM, but her words had a ring of truth to them. Unbidden, a memory floated to the surface of her troubled thoughts...a snippet of a late night conversation she had heard between Jesse and Jackie one night when she couldn't sleep. "...what if he doesn't come back?" "He will." "Jesse, what if he DOESN'T?" "If that happens, she'll have a home here with us like she always has." She never realized what that conversation was about, until now. _It's true... Oh Dad, why! Why?!?_ Annie pulled the blanket tighter against her shaking shoulders and cried herself soundlessly to sleep.  



	10. War Fields: Chapter 10

Author's Note: The lyrics to "What Might Have Been" by Little Texas are copyrighted by them and their respective songwriters. I still don't own anyone but Annie, and Lisa still doesn't own anyone but Roxanne. :)

  
  
War Fields: Chapter 10  
  
  
  
Matt watched as his son finally managed to calm down and get some sleep. The images of Annie and Roxy's boat exploding had practically paralyzed him. The police had been notified, but their search of the water way and surrounding areas had turned up empty. Matt silently hoped Brad and Dusty would find them alive and well. He couldn't blame Brad for losing his temper. If it weren't for the fact he had to control his emotions as leader, he would have joined them. _Damn it Roxanne, why for once can't you run the other way or not do nothing at all!_ Matt rubbed his eyes with frustration as he glanced out the hotel window. She was like a wild horse nothing could tame her. She could only be happy by being free to express who she really is. _Why did I lie to myself? She'll never sever her ties with VENOM. They'll always be apart of her._ Matt was never ready to accept this, but he didn't want to lose her either. Despite all the troubles she mange to get herself into, he couldn't stop loving her. She was his daughter…dangerous, yet special in every way. His head jerked way from the window as he heard a light knock at the door. Brad and Dusty had returned empty handed and just as frustrated as they started their search. Matt led them into the room next door, "Well?"  
  
"Nothing!" Brad said with disbelief, "Not even a hint."  
  
"I went up and down those water ways a thousand times," Dusty shook his head.  
  
"Police didn't have any luck either. They check out the wreckage of the boat, there were no bodies. Which is a good thing. That means the girls are still alive," Matt reminded hoping the lift their spirits slightly.  
  
"Alive for now," Brad mustered out holding his fist, "My gut tells me VENOM has them."  
  
Matt nodded he also had concluded that possibility, "IF that is the case, Roxy won't let anything happen to Annie."  
  
"How can you say that Matt?" Dusty barked at him, "She dragged the poor girl against her will into all of this. Plus that woman going to brain wash her."  
  
"I know you don't trust her Dusty, but she take responsibility for her own mistakes," Matt reminds him.  
  
Brad was lost in thought. Vanessa never asked about their daughter, even when he brought it up in conversation. Even if Annie were with VENOM, Vanessa would probably protect her for his sake. "Matt's right," he said softly.  
  
"Now I know this search is drivin' ya plumb crazy, Brad," Dusty said, "but that ain't no cause to go takin' the wrong side!"  
  
"I'm not taking sides," Brad sighed, too tired to argue. "But he is right. Contrary to appearances, Roxy wouldn't let anything serious happen to Annie. And if it was out of Roxy's hands, Vanessa would protect them, if only out of sheer self preservation."  
  
Dusty nodded. "Makes sense in a perverse sorta way. Probably figures the bricks won't come down quite so hard if the girls are healthy."  
  
"Exactly," was Brad's terse reply.  
  
The three heads looked up as Buddy charged into the room, "Ok I don't know where the girls are, but I got a lead on who VENOM's sponsor is. Mistier Lamont Venice's multibillionaire owns a nice mansion over looking the city, if you haven't seen it already. He's a collector of historical items; word out of the street is he's been trying to buy the altar from the city. The city of Venice refused his offer, stating it was a priceless artifact of their history to sell it would a grave sin. Another thing Mistier Lamont is known to give generous donations to Contra World in exchange for some rare artifacts."  
  
"That sounds like our man. Good work," Matt smiled thinking thing are about to look up.  
  
"Eh that's not all," Buddy added, "The exchange was suppose to happen today, but VENOM got a little greedy. So now he has to make another trip to the bank to withdraw some more."   
  
"Alright then Buddy, we'll go pay Mistier Lamont a home visit. Maybe he'll tell us where VENOM is hiding." Matt remarked as gathered his suit.  
  
"Fat chance at that," Brad huffed.  
  
"If he doesn't, then I think VENOM going to be a little peeved when they find out their sponsor just got kidnapped on the way to the bank," Matt added knowing that Brad and Dusty preferred that method of interrogation then politely asking.  
  
"Dad? I heard voices. Did you find them?" Scott asked sleepily in his boyish, not quite matured voice. He poked his head out the door of the other room, met Brad's gaze head on, and then quickly looked over to his father.  
  
"We have a lead, son. We were just heading out to investigate," Matt replied matter of factly.  
  
"Can I--" Scott stumbled a moment, looking for the proper wording, then he rephrased his question. "Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, there is," Brad, piped in suddenly before Matt could reply.  
  
Matt looked like he wanted to say something, until he caught the pointed look Brad shot him.  
  
Scott forced himself to look up at Brad. Brad noticed that Scott was giving him the same scared rabbit look that Annie always gave Matt. Only then did he realize how his earlier outburst must have looked to the poor kid. _He probably thinks I'm going to kill him, and rightly so, after the way I acted._ With that in mind, Brad gave him what he hoped was his warmest smile and said, "You can go back to sleep and get rested up just in case the girls happen to wander back here looking for us."  
  
Buddy caught the deflated look on Scott's face, and joshed him a little. "Not exactly the excitement you were expecting, huh, Scott?"  
  
"Not...really..." Scott admitted as he ran his fingers through his hair a bit nervously.   
  
"Aww, now Scott, come on," Dusty chided teasingly. "You can't tell me you wouldn't want to miss bein' here if a certain pretty redhead were to come walkin' through that door in need of rescue."  
  
Thunderstruck, Brad stared openly at Dusty's comment, then looked back at the blush rising in Scott's cheeks to see the truth of it. _Dear God...am I THAT blind?_ Dusty grinned openly and Buddy was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk. _Am I the only one who did NOT see this?_ He met Matt's calm blue stare, realizing that he was indeed not alone in this context. As he and Matt exchanged the classic 'let's talk about this later' look, Brad ushered Scott into the other room before the poor kid spontaneously combusted.  
  
"No wonder you looked at me like you thought I was going to kill you...you've got it baaaaaddd," Brad said before he realized that wasn't exactly as helpful as he intended.  
  
"I feel responsible for what happened, and I guess...I guess I thought maybe you'd blame me too," Scott confessed with a look somewhere between frightfully embarrassed and deathly afraid.  
  
"Speaking from personal experience, Scott, I know exactly how it feels to have a situation snowball completely out of your control," Brad sympathized. "And if I'm going to blame anyone for this mess, it'll be myself."  
  
"You?" Scott questioned in surprise as he sat down on his bed. "Why?"  
  
"Because I should have listened to my better instincts and left Annie where I knew she'd be safe instead of letting your father talk me into taking her along." Brad heaved a deep sigh.  
  
"That's crazy!" Scott exclaimed vehemently. "All you tried to do is give Roxy a friend that she probably doesn't even deserve. You didn't know that all of this stuff was gonna happen!"  
  
"Neither did you," pointed out Brad slyly.  
  
"Hey, wait, I---" Scott trailed off, wearing that same thunderstruck expression Brad had a few moments ago.  
  
"Admit it," Brad grinned, "I have you."  
  
Scott smiled the first genuine smile since this whole situation started. "All right, you got me."  
  
"Good. Now get some sleep. I'm going to go reassure your father that you're still alive," Brad quipped, resting a reassuring hand on Scott's shoulder for a moment.  
  
"Brad...when you see Annie...would you tell her---"  
  
"Nope," Brad cut him off, "cause I'm going to bring her back so that you can tell her yourself."  
  
He walked out as the younger boy laid back down. As soon as he re-entered the room, he said to Matt in a low, conspiratorial whisper. "Let's go, but make sure to remind me when this is all over that we need to have a chat about your son and my daughter."  
  
  
  
The next morning Lester Sludge stormed into Mayhem's office, "Boss we got a problem."  
  
"What!" Mayhem shouted.  
  
"MASK picked up Mistier Lamont." He replied slightly shaken by what Mayhem could do next.  
  
"You were told to keep a close eye on him!"  
  
"I was…but MASK out numbered me 4 to 1." Lester replied hoping his excuse was good enough to let him live the remaining years of his life.  
  
"Did you at least follow them?"  
  
"Umm…. really I tried boss, but I ended up chasing an illusion, that did a nasty number on Iguana."  
  
Mayhem slammed his fist on his desk, "DAMN YOU MASK! Now I have to waste more time in this city sending out for intelligence information. I was only hours away from receiving payment, and now all this work was for NOTHING!" His tone calmed down as an idea struck his head, "Maybe we know somebody, who knows where they are,"   
  
"Who boss?" Lester replied scratching his head  
  
Mayhem headed out of his office and headed straight for the holding cells with Lester following. He first glanced at the red head who starred at him wondering, if that was thee Miles Mayhem the ruthless terrorist leader of VENOM. He then turned his attention towards the other cell where Roxanne met his cold gaze.   
  
_You behave, and I keep the rest of these goons outta here,_ echoed Rax's voice in Annie's mind, as his promise of 'friendship' started to ring hollow in her ears. Obviously that promise didn't extend to VENOM's leader since Miles Mayhem now stood outside the door of her cell. Mayhem gave her a once over with his cold, calculating gaze, and Annie's heart turned to ice. She prayed that his stare didn't last too long, lest he notice her resemblance to Vanessa. Her prayers were answered when he turned his full attention back to Roxanne. _I couldn't have withstood that withering look for much longer_, Annie thought to herself as she did her best to make herself less visible, which wasn't too hard. She had a natural tendency to blend into her surroundings, even surprising her own father in the house on occasion. Although revolted by the mere sight of the man, Annie couldn't help but watch his every move intently.  
  
Roxanne stood up unimpressed by his visit and made an attempt to hide any emotions that would give away her fears. The smile on his face told her he wanted something badly, "Roxy tell me where your father is hiding."  
  
"You know, I wouldn't tell you even if I knew the answer," She snapped back at him.  
  
He didn't have time to play such games, "Bring her Lester!" Mayhem headed towards a room at the end of the hall, while Lester unlocked Roxy cell and forced her to follow.  
  
She gave Annie a look of worry, before starring at the room of horrors that awaited her. _ If only Annie wasn't here, then I could run for my life.  
_  
"Where are you taking her?" Annie asked fearful of being left alone.  
  
Lester just smiled and blew a kiss at Annie, "Don't worry sugar your next."  
  
She stood there pale. _Next for what?_ Something told her she really didn't want to know, and something told her that Rax better show up soon if the leering look Lester had given her was any indication of what was to come.  
  
The door slammed behind Roxy as she entered, and Lester grabbed her arms in a strong hold behind her back. Her heart was racing, but she wasn't going to crumble. He wasn't going to get any satisfaction out of tormenting her.  
  
Mayhem walked up to her and held her face inches from his, "Tell me where your old man is!" She starred into his cold-blooded eyes and didn't utter a word. He let go of her face and picked up a poker from the fireplace that he had conveniently let burning on the blazing fire. Roxanne wanted to close her eyes knowing that what he was about to do was going to hurt like hell. She had always known it to be true that he knew a thousand ways to torment a person with out killing them. He let her get a good look at it up close, before he took the burning poker and stabbed it into her left side.  
  
The inhumane scream Annie heard left a strong chill down her spin, "I'm…next." She sat down on the mattress before her feet gave out from under her. She felt extremely dizzy, whether from the blow to the head, or abject fear, she wasn't sure. She pulled her knees up to her chin and closed her eyes, trying to block out the rest of the pain filled cries coming from the other room, as well as the pain still nagging her own head. Annie tried to think of something, anything, to take her mind off the torture she knew was going on in the other room, but no Rangerly advice was forthcoming. Just more screams.  
  
Roxanne was in excruciating pain, that she wanted nothing more then to fall and hit the floor. _I can handle this. I won't…I won't betray him ever again!_ Her breathing became heavier and sweat pored down her face, yet she still met his gaze with complete hatred, "Is that all you GOT! Obviously my old man has more smarts then you do, if you can't find him." Her response triggered a rise in his anger, causing him to stab her again into her left side. She gritted her teeth attempting not to give him the pleasure of another scream. The sharp burning pain flowed all thru her entire body. Her legs wobbled, and it felt as if Lester was the only one holding her up. _He's NOT going to get any Pleasure out of this!_ She screamed in her mind as her hands clenched tightly into fists.  
  
"If you know what's good for you girl, you will answer when spoken to!" Mayhem barked.  
  
"I'd rather die then tell you ANYTHING!" With that last outburst, Mayhem took the poker and took a stab into her right side. She could no longer handle it anymore; her body fell straight to the floor. Tears were falling from her eyes, but only an expression of pure hate was displayed on her face.  
  
"It's good to see you're growing immune to my torture," he remarked with such delight. "I may just let you back in one of these days." He turned his attention to Lester, "Bring in the other one, she'll talk."  
  
_NO! NOT ANNIE!_ She panicked then begged Mayhem as she laid at his feet, "NO! I'll…I'll tell you what you want to know."  
  
He looked down noticing her change in cooperation, "So you actually care about that girl."  
  
She didn't admit anything, but Vanessa, Brad, Dusty, Scott, and everyone else cared deeply for her. If Annie had to endure this, she'd never be forgiven. "Promise me NOBODY will hurt her," she managed to muster out still feeling a strong rush of pain.  
  
"Alright," Mayhem said with a wicked grin on his face. She knew that meant for a short time he'd keep his bargain.   
  
She confessed to the floor, "My dad and his team are staying at the Hotel Panorama, under an alias name."  
  
Mayhem walked out of the room satisfied, "Lock her back up!"  
  
Lester picked her up, yet he mostly dragged her towards her cell.   
  
Annie starred in horror still thinking she was next. The holes in Roxy's blood stained shirt revealed something so horrific, that she had to turn away to regain her composure. She thought for sure she was going to end up dry heaving what wasn't left in her stomach. Even in some of the Ranger's worst case scenarios, most of which Jesse never let her see, Annie had never seen burns that bad. She took a deep, ragged breath and spared a glance Roxy's way.  
  
Roxanne leaned up against her cell avoiding eye contact with Annie, as Lester locked her back in and took off.   
  
"Roxy? Are…are you ok?" _Oh good grief, Annie, couldn't you have come up with something a little less CLICHE and INANE to say?_ Annie felt like questioning her own sanity when she replied to herself, _no, actually I couldn't. Does SHOCK mean anything to you?_  
  
Roxanne lifted her head up to look at Annie. Her face was dripping with sweat, but her eyes were exactly as Annie remembered from the previous night. They were full of rage and ready to strike on the first prey that came in sight, "Am I OK?! DO I LOOK OK?! THIS IS YOUR FAULT AS USUAL!"  
  
"What is the matter with you?! Why do you blame me for your own problems? I didn't do this to you!" She hammered back at her.  
  
Roxanne couldn't think straight the pain was getting to be unbearable, "I could of escaped from here, if it wasn't for you damn head injury! I should of just LEFT YOU HERE!"  
  
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE ME THIS," She yelled as she pointed to the bandage on her head. "You know your kidding yourself, if you can actually break out of that cell. And you wouldn't DARE leave me HERE! You don't have the guts! My father and the rest of MASK would hunt you down and kill you, and use your father's money to do it!"  
  
"Like I really care what that wash up singer and his team would do. Believe me Annie if I have enough guts to shoot my own brother, I think I can live with abandoning you."  
  
Annie's eyes went wide with disbelief ,"You shot Scott?" _What the hell was my father thinking letting me hang around with her? She's practically mental._ She started to shake all over again, but she wasn't going to give Roxanne the satisfaction of seeing it. She thought she felt the first stirrings of the 'fight or flight' response kicking in, as she said calmly and coldly. "You know what? I think I'd rather rot and die HERE than be rescued by someone who would turn on their own family!"  
  
"JUST SHUT UP ANNIE! JUST SHUT UP!" Roxanne then turned her back to Annie and took her first step towards her bed. Instead of reaching her soft bed, she ended up collapsing to the floor into a little ball. Her entire body shivered violently in pain on the cold floor. Roxy began to cry, while she kept mumbling softly under her lip, "just shut up…shut up."  
  
Annie reply was interrupted as she watched Roxy crash to the floor. She really started to panic when the noises stop coming from Roxanne's cell. _ Is she dead? Did she leave me here to die by myself! Lord, forgive me, I can't believe I'm about to do this._ "RAX!" She screamed wildly, calling for the only person she had to place her faith in at the moment.  
  
About five minutes later Rax approached her with his ears covered, "Dang you have a loud mouth! Quit your hollering. What is it? It's not even lunch time yet."  
  
She didn't utter a word; just motioned her head towards Roxanne's cell as a hint.  
  
Rax stood their dumb founded for a moment. _She better not be faking, else I'll give her something that will knock her out.  
_  
"Listen, I didn't swallow my pride and yell just to have you stand there and stare!" Annie snapped, surprised at her own audacity. "Do something! She needs your help!"  
  
He ignored her mouth and entered Roxanne's cell. He knelt down letting his eyes survey her closely. "Roxy?" his voice offered a hint of concern as he checked her pulse. Her unresponsiveness caused him to scooped her up into his arms and gently laid her on the bed.  
  
"YOUR BOSS DID THAT TO HER!" Annie yelled with utter disgust. _How can she call these people friends? A friend is supposed to watch the other's back.  
_  
Rax wasn't surprise one bit; in fact he had hoped to prevent this from happening. He headed over towards a nearby intercom, to contact Vanessa who was working on her vehicle, "Vanessa I need you to bring a first aid kit to the holding area."  
  
Vanessa huffed in protest, "I'm in the middle of getting Manta ready for battle."  
  
"JUST DO IT!" he ordered her, probably for the first time in his life.  
  
Vanessa figured Annie probably just blacked out again, but she wasn't prepared to handle the sight that greeted her. Annie was ok; she was pressed up against her cell watching something. Her eyes followed in the same direction noticing a pale Roxanne looking like she was lying on her deathbed. "That old bastard," She muttered under her breath. She moved in closer and pushed Rax out of the way, "Let me look!"  
  
"Well sorry if your motherly instincts just decide to kick in, but I got here first." He argued.  
  
Roxanne mumbled half dazed, "Mommy it really hurts."  
  
_Mommy? She just called my mother, mommy! Who...does she think she is?_ Annie bickered silently to herself. She wanted to snap off another stinging remark to Vanessa, but thought better of it. She simply watched the VENOM agents with a look between concern and fury.  
  
Vanessa put a gentle hand over her burning forehead, "I know it does." She lifted up her shirt, "Damn it! He used the poker. Get me a needle and some thread, I'm going to have to sew her up."  
  
He protested, "But I'm much better at doing that then you are."  
  
"Don't argue with me! Just give them to me!"  
  
Roxanne grunted and whimpered as Vanessa sewed up her wounds. Rax had left the room looking for clean clothes and something that would ease her pains. Roxanne opened her eyes slightly, "I wasn't going to let him have her."  
  
Vanessa rested a cool rag on her head, "I know that."  
  
"I didn't want to cave in…I almost won." She remarked with slight regret in her voice.  
  
"Get some rest…you'll win next time," She remarked as she pushed something into Roxanne hand and exited her cell.  
  
_Why does she treat her differently? _Annie wondered as she watched in utterly confusion and slightly jealous. _She was practically willing to throw me around the room with my injuries, yet now she's nursing hers!_ "What does she have that I don't?" She asked before Vanessa disappeared from her sight.  
  
"The capabilities to be my successor," She answered walking out leaving that as that.   
  
According to her mother, she was never good enough to be her daughter. Her words pierced her heart and enraged her that Roxy had stolen her mother from her. _How could she have stolen something you NEVER had to begin with?_ Deep down, Annie knew the answer to her own question. She sat back down again, chin on her knees, and admitted to herself for the first time why Vanessa Warfield wanted nothing to do with her...because of her father. Brad was Vanessa's weakness...and Vanessa Warfield didn't have weaknesses. Annie was, and would have been, a constant reminder of that one weakness, and so Vanessa had chosen to abandon her rather than admit that she was weak. _ It still hurts. I still wonder what it would have been like to have them together, to be a normal family. To not have to see that haunted look cross Dad's eyes when his defenses dropped...to not have him look at me and see her...to not have him have lost even the smallest iota of trust of the MASK team...  
_  
  
_Try not to think about what might have been  
'Cause that was then, and we have taken different roads  
We can't go back again, there's no use givin' in  
No we'll never know...what might have been_  
  
  
Roxy, on the other hand, was everything Annie wasn't. Street smart, sassy, tough, strong...it wasn't any wonder Vanessa treated her more like a daughter. Anger, mixed with bitterness and tinged with regret, soared through her passionately, and driven by fear, hardened into a resolve colder than the mountain snows. _ I can be strong,_ she thought coldly. _I WILL be strong, because I am damn well going to get out of here._ Annie's normal, rational side protested this change in her attitude, but lost out to the pain in Annie's temples and her irrational thoughts. Out of sheer self preservation, Annie Turner nurtured her newfound cold, hard, resolve, becoming more like her mother than she dared admit.  



	11. War Fields: Chapter 11

War Fields: Chapter 11

  
  
Several hours passed, before Roxanne stirred from her sleep. The drugs that Rax had given her still left her dazed, but she had to get up. "Annie? You there?"  
  
"Duh! Where else would I have gone?" She replied in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"We have to get out of here. We…we have to warn them." She sat up in her bed resting her arm around her waist.  
  
"What do you mean warn them…warn who?"  
  
"MASK," She stood up slowly and walked limping towards her cell door, her fist clenching something in her hand. "I…I told Mayhem their location."  
  
"YOU WHAT?" She snapped worried her father was in considerable danger, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"  
  
_To save you…_She stopped at the cell door and pulled the lock pick out of her hand and began to work on the lock, "Because he would of killed us both, if I hadn't."  
  
"If something happens to dad I won't forgive you! If something happens to ANY of them, I won't forgive you!" She paused for a moment as she watched Roxanne open her cell door, after merely a few seconds of playing with the lock, "Your serious about this."  
  
She nodded as she limped over towards her cell. "Just don't kill me when I unlock the door. I was hoping to do this when you got better, but if we don't leave now we're as good as dead." She looked Annie straight in the eye, before attempting to unlock the cell, "I need your help to escape. I can't do this alone. Our dads need us."  
  
"I don't exactly have any choice, now do I?" Annie said icily, ignoring the fact that her conscience told her not to make any deals with this deceiver. "I want out of here just as badly, so I'll help you."  
  
Roxanne unlocked the cell door, "There's a boat dock not far from here. Most the agents should be gone, so all we have to do is avoid a few Contra World soldiers. We're going to have to depend on each other, you understand that?"  
  
"I'm not stupid," Annie remarked feeling just a bit insulted. "Of course I realize that. But after this is over, I'm not making any promises."  
  
Annie took a quick glance up and down the hall, then said suddenly, "Give me the lock pick."  
  
"Why?" Roxanne questioned, completely taken aback. "What for? You don't even know how to use it!"  
  
Annie rolled her eyes and explained as if to a small child. "If you need it back to open a door, I'll give it to you, but I don't plan on using it for its intended purpose. That thing is the closest thing to a weapon we have, and I've had enough experience with knives that the principle of using the lock pick should be the same."  
  
"You can't fight with a lock pick!" Roxanne argued.  
  
Tired of discussing it, Annie simply snatched the pick out of Roxanne's hand and transfixed her with a hard stare. "Care to test that theory?"  
  
Roxanne gulped at the disassociated look in Annie's eyes, as though she wasn't herself anymore. "No," she said quietly. _She can't be serious a lock pick for a weapon. She really did hit her head hard._  
  
"I didn't think so," Annie replied with satisfaction. In the same breath, she said almost reassuringly, "Come on, I'll lead. Which way, left or right?"  
  
"Right. Towards the end of the hall, there should be a set of steep stairs that lead upwards towards ground level."  
  
Annie quickened her pace down the hall, until she reached the stairs, and cautiously glanced upwards. "Alright then…" She stood there irritated realizing Roxanne wasn't following her lead, "you coming some time today?"  
  
Roxanne walked down the long hallway slowly limping and squinting her eyes as she felt pain, "Well Sorrrrrry! I'm still trying to picture you killing somebody with my pick. You know your not exactly helping me by being 20 steps ahead of me."  
  
Annie narrowed her eyes. _Oh you're pushing it!_ Then moved towards Roxanne and rested her arm around her shoulder forcing her to quicken her pace. She then tip toed up the stairs and noticed a guard standing around smoking a cigarette. She whispers down to Roxy, "There's one guy at the top."  
  
"Is he facing you or does he have his back to you?"  
  
"Ummm…" She took another quick look, "back facing."  
  
Roxy replied annoyed that she has to give step-by-step instructions, "Well hit him over the head with something."  
  
"Something…all I have is a lock pick," she argued back.  
  
_Whose fault is that?_ Roxanne began to pressure her. "Stab him in the throat with it, use your arms to hit him in the back of the head, a try a vulcan grip. I don't care what you do. Just knock him out! With all this bickering between us, he's going to come down here and lock us both back up. You want that?"  
  
Annie gave her a looking saying 'Of course I don't, but why do I have to be the one.' _Note to self, she thought dazedly, remind me that I REALLY need to ask for some self defense training.   
_  
"Get going, I'll be up there shortly," Roxanne remarked with displeasure eyeing the steep stone steps.  
  
Annie cautiously moved up the stairs towards ground level. The soldier was ignorant of her present. His gun an automatic rifle rested up against the wall, and he continued to puff smoke, as if he was on a long earned break. Annie could hear her heart beating louder with every step; she feared the solider could hear it as well. This was the first time in her life she'd ever attack anyone, but she had to. Anything to get out of here and away from her! As she stood behind him, the solider could sense somebody was there. With full force Annie aimed to jam the lock pick right into his throat, yet the solider turned his head at that exact moment, causing Annie to stab him right at the base of his neck.   
  
"AHHH," The soldier yelled in agony stumbling over is own gun knocking it away from his reach. In an attempt to regain his balance from the surprise attack, he grabbed Annie and threw her across the room. "You little BITCH how did you get out!"   
  
Annie was stun by his force. _What…what should I do next?_ she asked herself, trying to shake her head out of the haze generated by the guard's blow. Dizzily, she tried to backpedal as the guard advanced on her menacingly.  
  
"I had orders not touch you, but you just made me MAD!" The solider stood over her and reached down to pick her up. Annie did the only self-defense mechanism she could think of. She kicked him right in between his legs. He fell to his knees in a state of shock. Annie was going to run, but he grabbed her shirt sending her straight back down to the floor. She turned her head frighten, as he was ready to throw a punch into her face. Instead of hitting her, his entire body fell forward upon her.  
  
Annie looked up and saw Roxanne hovering over them with an automatic rifle in her hand. She had knocked him out cold, by hitting his head with the hilt of the gun. She then dropped the gun to the ground, as Annie came to her feet. "Sorry I took to long," She huffed out of breath, "Thought you could use some help."  
  
Annie's heart was still racing, "Help? I had a handle on the situation, before you butted in."  
  
Roxanne smiled not convinced, "Sure you did…but hey it felt good didn't to get your hands dirty."  
  
Annie didn't admit anything, the nagging feeling in the back of her head said that Roxy was trying to turn her into the ruthless person she'd become. _This is a survival mechanism only...that will never be me...I hope._ She shook her head one more time to attempt to clear the cobwebs in it. "Which way?"  
  
Roxanne picked up the soldier's radio listening carefully, "Well were in trouble now."   
  
"What you don't know the way out!"  
  
"Your little fight made too much noise. They're sending a couple guards to investigate."  
  
"Then we have to hide." Annie grabbed Roxanne and dragged her into a nearby room shutting the door behind them. The guards could be heard out in the hallway trying to figure out what just happened. It was only a matter of time, before they were caught.  
  
"We can't stay here. It's not safe." Roxanne reminded her as she sat down in a wooden chair taking a rest.  
  
"What do you think about taking the window out?" Annie asked checking to see if the coast was clear, "There's enough trees and brush that it will make it difficult for them to find us." Annie pushed up on the window, yet it wouldn't budge. "Its like it's nailed shut."   
  
"We need to block the door with something," She tested a nearby bookcase, "this will do."  
  
"What good is this doing? We can't hold a stand off in here." She argued as she did most the work pushing the bookcase over the door.  
  
"Pull the curtains off," Annie did what she was ordered, "I'm still not getting the point of this."  
  
"Stop your whining and move out of the way," she ordered. As Annie stepped out of the way, Roxanne picked up the wooden chair threw it thru window. The crashing sound of the chair breaking the window grabbed the guards' attention instantly. Several guards were shouting and slamming their bodies against the door to pry it open, yet the bookcase held the door shut for the moment.  
  
She scolded her, "Oh just brilliant, Roxy! NOW THEY KNOW WE'RE IN HERE!"  
  
Roxanne was on her knees cringing. The amount of force she used to throw the chair resulted in one of her stitches prying open. I should of let Annie do it. "Hurry! Knock the rest of the glass out using the curtain!"  
  
Annie wrapped the curtain around her hand and punched out the remaining sharp pieces of glass. She then stepped thru the window glancing around the outside half expecting somebody to greet her. Roxanne got back on her feet and headed over to the window. The bookcase was ready to fall over and the guards were only seconds away from bursting into the room. Roxanne stuck her head and arms out the window, "Grab me!"  
  
Annie stuck her arms around Roxanne's armpits and yanked her thru the window by force, causing her to fall straight thru the window and on top of her. "Do you mind?!"  
  
Before Roxanne could come up with snippy remark to reply back, the bookcase slammed into the ground, "RUN!."   
  
Annie put Roxanne's arm back around her shoulder, and the two girls rushed off into the woods. They could hear the guards rustling out the window behind them, yet they didn't dare look back. A few gunshots fired, yet they kept dodging around trees. Neither girl stopped to rest, all they could think about was staying alive.   
  
"I can't run anymore," Roxanne huffed in pain, "it hurts. Go on with out me."  
  
"Oh please, stop being a big baby," Annie replied uptight. _As much as I think I'd love to, I couldn't live with myself if I left her behind. Not to mention that no one else would forgive me, except maybe Dusty. I don't think he likes her much._  
  
Annie smiled inwardly at the thought of Dusty praising her for ditching Roxanne, then she slid her mind back to reality. "There," She pointed to a ditch, which appeared to be hidden well by the surround plant life. The two girls entered the ditch and stayed as low as possible. Neither girl breathed a single breath, as Contra World Soldiers stood above them devising alternative routes to search for the girls. Once they went off their separate ways, both girls became relieved.  
  
"We almost made it," Roxanne smiled.  
  
"You wanted me to leave you back there," Annie snickered slightly at Roxy's emotional falling to her weakness.  
  
"I'm just surprise you didn't." She remarked with a hint of surprise in her tone, "Hey look straight ahead." The girls could see a hint of water in the distance. "That means the docks can't be far."  
  
Annie lifted her head out of the brush, "No one, now's our chance." She helped Roxy to her feet and they raced thru the wood side by side towards the waterway. Sure enough a dock was only a matter of feet away from their location. For the first time in a long time, the girls smiled at each other feeling that luck had definitely been on their side.  
  
"How did you know there would be a boat waiting?" Annie asked still mostly carrying Roxanne's weight.  
  
"If I told you who left me the boat, would you still get in it?" Roxanne threw a puzzling glanced at Annie. Annie facial expression showed that she probably wouldn't touch the boat, if it were on loan from VENOM. "I didn't think so, let's go!"  
  
"This time I'm driving!" Annie insisted fearing another boat accident.  
  
"Oh no arguments there," Roxanne replied as the girls finally reached the boat.  
  
  
  
_I can't believe I'm actually doing this, I don't even have my driver's license yet! _Annie thought as she steered the boat carefully through the waterways of Venice. She drove fast enough to give them some distance from VENOM's lair, but slow enough that she didn't feel that she was in danger of capsizing the boat. _I guess this is kinda like driving the snowmobiles up in the mountains, except it's on water instead of snow._ She slowed down for just a moment as she glanced around at the surrounding landmarks to see if anything looked familiar.  
  
"Roxy, is it just me, or does this area look familiar?" She asked the other girl, unsure if it was just wishful thinking on the part of her aching head.  
  
When Roxanne didn't reply, Annie turned to peer over her shoulder. Roxy still lay on the floor of the boat where she had more or less collapsed after their escape. Annie couldn't tell if she was dozing or unconscious.  
  
"ROXY! Wake up and tell me if you know where we are!" Annie demanded a little more harshly than the first time. She snorted angrily when Roxanne still didn't answer her. "Some help YOU are."  
  
"I heard that," replied a weak voice from the floor.  
  
"Good! Now get up and make yourself useful and tell me if this area looks like where we should be!" Annie ordered. "After all, YOU were conscious the first time around!"  
  
Roxanne shot Annie a dangerous look, but reluctantly sat up and looked around. "Yeah, this is it...just keep steering straight ahead."  
  
An explosion rocked the sky above them, making Annie nearly jump out of her skin and stall the boat. "Beautiful, right toward the sound of those explosions!"  
  
"Looks like VENOM got here before we did," Roxanne muttered, adding a little too cheerfully, "At least we know we're getting close."  
  
"Thank you, I feel SO MUCH better now," Annie said with a sigh, trying to fight down the odd vertigo of deja vu crawling through her mind.  
  
More explosions crashed through the sky around them. Annie wished she could see what was going on, but the tall buildings surrounding the waterway blocked the view of the battle. Even so, she was pretty sure her father had Condor into the air by now, and a weird combination of elation and worry jolted through her. On one hand, she wanted her father to chase down Vanessa in Manta and blow her out of the sky, but on the other hand, she didn't want the tables to be reversed. Nor did she want to think about the fact that Mayhem could easily take him out in Switchblade, although Annie was pretty sure Matt would be able to back him up in Thunderhawk.  
  
The sound of cracking mortar brought Annie back to reality as she watched a missile careen into the building right overtop of them on the waterway. She stared upward in stunned silence as the building started to sway and collapse on top of them.  
  
"ANNIE, WAKE UP AND GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Roxanne screamed as she too noticed what was happening.  
  
Frightened out of shock by Roxanne's sudden shout, Annie slammed the gas pedal to the floor, shooting them forward scant inches from where the structure fell into the water. "That was close!" she breathed, slowing down slightly.  
  
Roxanne glanced behind them in time to see a fierce wave forming from the impact of the collapsed building. "Not close enough!" She shouted a warning just a little too late. "TIDAL WAVE!"  
  
_OH SHIT!_ Annie did her best to keep control of the wheel as the wave hit, but the wave front was too strong. All she could do was attempt to steer as the wave crashed over them. She managed to avoid a few more pieces of debris before the wave collapsed, sending them on a collision course with the leftmost wall of the canal. She tried valiantly to steer clear, but the water from the wave had stalled the engine. _Nothing to do for it now but pray!_ "Brace yourself, Roxy! We're gonna crash!"  
  
Annie closed her eyes and grabbed the steering wheel for dear life, bracing for impact. They still crashed with enough force to send her flying into the deck of the boat, abusing her already aching head with another blow. Annie pushed herself up enough to rest on her elbows, then felt her forehead gingerly. Her bandage had fallen away, reopening the gash already on her forehead, and she felt another one as her fingers came away bloody. She felt the environment start to spin around her and go dark, so she laid her head back down on the deck.  
  
"Smooth, Annie, really smooth," Roxanne grumbled in pain from somewhere beside her.  
  
"At.. least... I...didn't...get...us...blown...up..."   
  
Annie felt like she had cotton in her mouth as she forced out the reply. She tried unsuccessfully to prop herself up on her arms, but the pull of the blackness was just too much. Heavy eyelids closed as the world faded around her.  
  
Roxanne turned her head annoyed, " Just moments ago you were yelling at me about my nap, but it's ok for you to pass out!" Her ears perked up as she heard another boat in the distance.  



	12. War Fields: Chapter 12

War Fields: Chapter 12  
  
  
"YEE HAW!" Dusty yelled as he gave Sly Rax in Piranha a run for his money.  
  
He currently had Rax on the defensive as they zigzagged through the Venitian waterways. He could see the barest outline of the submerged sidecar in the water just before him. Dusty was just about to release a depth charge when he heard the explosion above him. Switchblade had fired a heat-seeking missile at Condor, which Brad had deftly avoided at the expense of one of the nearby buildings. Dusty turned his attention back to the water when he saw the building collapse, almost right on top of a boat passing by. _Uh oh, probably some unknowing tourists who just happened to sail by. Better go see if they need some help._  
  
Dusty released the depth charge anyway, just to keep Rax occupied, before he turned Gator in the direction of the boat he saw. With exceptional experience, he steered Gator quickly and deftly through the wave front of the building's collapse and stopped parallel to the stalled boat. "You folks need any help?" he called, careful to make sure Backlash was still on tightly.  
  
He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. Roxanne's brunette head poked up over the side of the boat and peered at him quizzically. Inwardly, she cringed. _Of all the people to rescue us, it just HAD to be the one agent who truly hates my guts, and the one agent who dotes on Annie more than Brad does! Just my luck!_ She didn't let any of these thoughts show as she flashed Dusty her most charming smile and said a little too sweetly, "Uh, hi Dusty..."  
  
A jolt of relief rushed through him, quickly followed by unbridled fury. "Don't you gimme the innocent routine!" Dusty growled as he picked her up underneath her arms and dumped her unceremoniously in Gator's back seat.  
  
Roxanne bit back a scream of immense pain. _If I didn't know that he didn't know about my injuries, I would SWEAR he did that on purpose!_ She settled for grunting at him, "Ouch! Hey, take it easy...I'm hurt you know!"  
  
"Well, don't expect any sympathy from me," Dusty snarled back. "You got yourself into this mess."  
  
"Yeah, well you should be thankful I got us out!" Roxy snapped back.  
  
She realized belatedly that this was exactly the wrong person to say that to. "Listen here, Roxy, you might be able to snow Matt, Brad, and some of the others with yer little sob stories, but I ain't fooled. You should be thankful I even pulled your sorry ass off of that boat! Now where's Annie?" he asked, taking a menacing step toward her.  
  
_If I weren't in this condition I'd rearrange your face!_ She held her fist tight fighting back the urge to yell. _I'd rather be left on that boat, then rescued by you anyways._ "I think...she passed out," Roxanne said with unusual quietness and with little care in her voice, the force of Dusty's reply drove the fight out of her.  
  
"You better hope nothing's wrong with her."  
  
Roxanne crossed her arms knowingly that Dusty reaction to Annie would make her gag. _Nothing wrong with her? Where should I start you yellow bellie hill billie? She's got a big mouth, can't defend herself, so full of herself, and oh that head injury she must of gotten a LONG time ago, before I ever met her._  
  
Dusty gracefully hopped onto the other boat and knelt beside Annie in one fluid movement. Gently he rolled her over to see the two nasty cuts on her forehead crusted over with dried blood. He pushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes as he propped her up against his shoulder. Vanessa Warfield's daughter or not, the girl had captured his heart since the time she was two, when she had crawled up courageously in his lap and stared up at him with those big green eyes, saying "Hi Unca Dusty." Brad certainly was right about one thing, there was going to be HELL to pay if something happened to her, and Dusty Hayes planned on taking it out of Roxanne Trakker's hide.  
  
"Annie, wake up sweetie." He shook her shoulders gently.  
  
Green eyes so glassed over they looked blue blinked up at him. "D-D-Dusty? Are you...real?"  
  
"I'm real, darlin'," he answered softly, pulling her gently upright with him. "You're safe now."  
  
Annie threw her arms around his neck and began to shake. Dusty felt her body begin to go limp in his arms. _Damn, she's goin' into shock right in front of me. _  
  
"Annie," he said, more seriously than he had ever spoken to her in his life. "We ain't out of the woods, yet. I need you to stay with me just a little longer, honey."  
  
She pulled back a little and nodded wordlessly up at him. Dusty swung her easily into Gator's front passenger seat before climbing into the driver's seat. As he put the orange boat back into motion, he handed Annie the microphone for Gator's radio.  
  
"Why don't you give the other boys a holler and let 'em know the good news?"   
  
If Annie could have seen his face, she knew he would be grinning impishly. With the polite protocol she'd learned with the rangers, Annie keyed the mike and said, "This is Phoenix calling the MASK team."  
  
Phoenix? Dusty asked himself. Must be one of the Rangers gave her that.   
  
Radio silence reigned for a moment. Buddy must have recovered first, because it was his surprised and relieved voice that asked, "Annie...is that...you?"  
  
"Yeah. Roxy and I are here with..." She paused to think of Dusty's codename. "...Powderkeg."  
  
"Good! Now get the HELL off the radio before I have an accident, and tell POWDERKEG to use a little more common sense next time!" Brad's voice was a paradoxical mix of relief and anger.  
  
Annie giggled wildly, shock and the repeated blows to the head making her feel quite a bit unsteady. "He said to use some common sense next time," she repeated literally.  
  
"I heard what he said, honey," Dusty replied, amused.  
  
Roxanne sat back rolling her eyes, _Oh yeah that was very funny. While you're at it, why don't you tell Brad she took a couple knocks to the head, maybe he'll crash his bike.  
_  
Matt's commanding voice broke into their midst. "Dusty, I don't care what you have to do, but I want you to get the girls to safety as soon as possible! We'll handle VENOM."  
  
"Yes sir!" Dusty acknowledged smartly as he steered Gator back toward the main part of the city.  
  
Dusty sped up Gator thru the waterways, to find a more secure location from the eyes of VENOM. Although he felt the mixtures of relief and rage running thru his veins, his attention was more diverted towards the well being of the girls. Roxanne was fighting to keep her eyes open and rested a protected arm around her torso. He remembered her mentioning she was injured, but she deserved whatever it was she got. Dusty half heartily thought she was playing a sick routine to make her injures look worst then Annie's. That was always her best gimmick to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. Annie on the other hand still looked pale and shaken, but she had a reassuring smile on her face knowing that soon she'll be with her father. Despite the throbbing headache, she felt safe next to Dusty, and she sat as close to him as she could without interfering with his driving. Now that he was here, she would no longer have to listen to Roxanne's lies and threats.   
  
_I wonder if either of them would notice if I fell off the back?_ Roxanne eyed suspiciously expecting one of them or at least Dusty to turn around and continue yelling at her. She closed her eyes feeling as thought the boat accident and Dusty's forceful pickup had just ripped open another stitch. She could hear Rax's voice in the back her mind, "Stay in bed if you know what's good for ya. If you move around too much it's not going to heal up." But she couldn't stay even Vanessa knew that. Her train of thoughts was broken, by a slightly violent tug on her leg.  
  
"WAKE UP!" he snapped at her with one hand steering the boat the other yanking on her leg.   
  
"OUCH! She shouted into his ear, "Do me favor and don't touch me!"  
  
"I'll be damn, if I let you sleep this off before you get what's coming to you."  
  
What's the point with arguing with the man, he'll always see Annie as an angel and her as a devil. She would of loved of given him a long lecture as to why her injures were far worst then little darlin' Annie's, but the man too blind to see it or read between the lines. She then changed the subject hoping to delay the long tale of misery she had to endure, "How's the fight going?"  
  
Dusty didn't want to reply to her, but he saw Annie's big green eyes stare at him also wanting to know. "A bit unexpected. We had just manage to weasel information out of VENOM's contact about their base location, little did we know VENOM had found ours."  
  
Roxanne gulped slightly in the back seat, but she wasn't ashamed for what she did.  
  
"They were hitting our vehicles pretty hard, before we had the chance to get to them. Luckily Buddy's a handy mechanic when you need him. Condor and Rhino were the only one on the battlefield. Brad made an attempt to divert their attention with Hocus Pocus. Unfortunately Vanessa saw thru that little trick of his and started a little game of cat'n mouse. Thunderhawk took most the damage during the surprise attack, but Buddy assures us most the weapon systems are functioning. Got to praise the man for getting our vehicles running, even if there not 100% combat ready. So far nobody has gotten hurt. From the looks of things, we manage to reverse VENOM advantage into their handicap." Dusty said with some pride in his voice. "We hinted the police the location of VENOM base, before the battle commenced. We were actually hoping to pick you up tonight, but I feel much better seeing you with my own two eyes." Dust remarked mostly staring at Annie who had a bit of a blush. He then pulled Gator up against a dock that was far removed from the battle, yet the air war was still visible from their location, "The only thing that puzzles me is how VENOM manage to pick up our location?"  
  
"Oh that's pretty easy," a wicked smile developed on Annie's face, "Roxy told Mayhem everything he wanted to know.  
  
Roxanne was well aware that Dusty shot a cold look under his mask, "YOU LITTLE TRATOR! That don't surprise me one bit.   
  
She shouted in defense, "Well I didn't exactly have a choice now did I!"  
  
"You could of kept your mouth shut!" He huffed back her enraged. "You know your dad tried to fire his rockets to deflect that missile from Brad. Unfortunately his rockets went off line, and Brad had to maneuver his way around. That's exactly why that piece of building nearly clobbered you out there!"  
  
She starred him blankly in the face, "I have no regrets for what I did, and I don't expect you understand my reasons."  
  
Dusty looked over at Annie, then back at Roxy. His rage towards the girl was surging, but he wasn't about to do it in front of innocent Annie.   
  
The three watched the sky eagerly as Thunderhawk, Switchblade, Manta, and Condor flew back'n forth hammering lasers, missiles, rockets, and everything in their arsenals against one another. For the first time Roxanne realized how ironic the situation was, it was like a never-ending custody battle. Her father Mathew Trakker would do anything to ensure she would never work for VENOM under Miles Mayhem again, a man who she once considered a father before learning the truth. Annie's father Brad would do anything to get his daughter back, and Vanessa would gladly hand her back on the grounds of letting him suffer a bit. She smirked slightly as she watch amazed.  
  
Annie turned around looking at Roxanne finding nothing amusing about the battle, "What's so funny? Our dads are fighting for their lives"  
  
"They'll be fine, besides if I told you you'd never get it."  
  
Once Annie turned her head back up to the sky she saw something that nearly caused her to stop breathing. Manta had managed to hit Condor with one of its missiles. Manta then circled around its prey in a celebrant victory roll. Condor fell from the sky in a cloud of black smoke. Dusty couldn't grab a hold of Annie, she just ran out of Gator and headed in the direction her father fell.  
  
  
Vanessa glanced down as Condor's propellers slowly spin around attempting to stay airborne, yet the damage she did was far more then it was capable of handling. All she could see was a trail of black smoke surrounding the bike, as it zoomed towards the ground. "That's another strike for you TURNER!" She howled with wicked laughter. She circled around curiously wondering if he had survived the crash. Yet her curiosity was shattered, once she realized Thunderhawk fired a heat-seeking missile in her direction. Manta flew away attempting to dodge the oncoming surprise. She drove Manta low in-between the closely structured buildings hovering over the waterway. The missile seem to be gaining on her, she had to shake it some how. Manta then took a hard nosedive and leveled out within inches above the water. Up ahead was a stone bridge. Vanessa knew she was taking the risk of clipping both her wings, but it was the only way to rid herself of the pest. Manta's wings scrapped up against the bridge with sparks, yet it barely managed to squeeze under. Vanessa pulled hard on her stick and fired Manta rockets, causing Manta to shoot straight up into the sky. There was large explosion behind Manta as it took off. As she glanced back, there was nothing left of the bridge, "That was close."   
  
Just before she could turn around and head back, she heard Mayhem voice broadcast over her radio, "Our base has just been compromised!" Before Mayhem could devise an alternative strategy, Rhino shot an unsuspecting surprise from its cannon right thru Switchblade's left wing, "NOOOO!" Mayhem had no choice but to convert Switchblade from jet mode to helicopter mode. "RETREAT, we need to regroup!"   
  
Vanessa grunted with utter frustration, "I was on a roll, and as soon as he manages to get hit he calls the whole thing off. THIS IS REDICULOUS!" She screamed as she hit her steering wheel. She started turning Manta in the direction Switchblade retreated, "Just you wait until next time MASK, this isn't over with!"  



	13. War Fields: Chapter 13

War Fields: Chapter 13  
  
  
Annie continued running towards Condor. She could hear Dusty shouting her name, but she didn't turn back. Through tear filled eyes, she sprinted for dear life toward the area where she last saw Condor. _Please let him be okay, she prayed silently, my mother hates me, and I wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to him too._ In the same space of breath, she began cursing Vanessa violently, unaware that she was ranting out loud.  
  
"I'll kill her," Annie swore to herself as she continued forward, "I'll throttle her with my bare hands and rip her throat out and bring her heart back to Roxy as proof..."  
  
She went on rambling feverishly about the countless tortures she would visit upon Vanessa Warfield until the sound of something rolling on the ground at her feet stopped her. Annie stopped and looked down to see the familiar visage of Brad's Hocus Pocus mask staring up at her. Shakily, she picked it up and held it in her hands, hugging it to her chest. Wet tears dripped down onto the sides of his mask as Annie considered the possibilities. _He's really hurt...he has to be; he'd never take his mask off otherwise in case VENOM were still around._ Her next thought struck her cold. _But VENOM knows who he is already, cause he used to work for them._ Anger, fear, and shock, coupled with repeated blows to the head started Annie on a train of thought she never would have thought possible otherwise. What if the dogfight was just a ruse? What if Brad and Vanessa had this whole thing planned from the beginning, with Roxanne's help? What if they wanted to take her back to VENOM and brainwash her to be an agent just like them?   
  
Annie saw movement in front of her and tried to run back to the safety of Gator, but paralyzing fear had her frozen to the spot. She looked outward to see the outline of Condor lying on its side, ripped open from Manta's missile. But what scared her more at the moment was the figure climbing shakily to its feet and walking towards her direction.  
  
  
Brad managed to pull Condor down into motorcycle mode scant seconds before he collided with the ground. Somehow he managed to roll off the bike before she crashed into a standing grove of trees. Uncaring, he pulled Hocus Pocus off his head and chucked the mask in the direction of the accident. He sat for a moment, breathing heavily, thanking his guardian angels that he had managed to walk away from that crash, and cursing the devil woman who had put him in this predicament in the first place. _Damn you Vanessa_. As he stood up and dusted himself off, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned back toward what remained of Condor's frame and shook his head to clear it, not believing what he saw. Yet the vision remained. His daughter stood there, clutching Hocus Pocus for dear life, staring at Condor with wide, tear filled eyes. Their eyes locked for just a moment, and a look so utterly foreign crossed Annie's face, it made Brad almost sick to see it. _God, Annie, what did they do to you?_  
  
"Annie..." His voice cracked and his throat tightened so much that all he could manage to say was her name.   
  
"Stay away from me," she warned in a low growl.  
  
Her voice sounded so much like Vanessa that Brad halted from shock alone. He took a moment to look her over, and she stared back out of haunted eyes full of terror. Hesitantly, Brad inched a few steps closer, aching to pull her close and tell her everything was all right, but it was obvious to him that everything wasn't. _She's absolutely terrified.... what did they DO to her?_  
  
"Annie..." he called again, his voice stronger now.  
  
"STAY...AWAY...FROM...ME!" She screamed, throwing Hocus Pocus at him and breaking into a dead run back the way she came.  
  
Brad 'oofed' as the mask hit him squarely in the chest, but he let it roll away as he sprinted after his obviously not well child. Under normal circumstances, she probably could have easily outrun him, having the endurance from running and climbing in the mountains. But these were definitely NOT normal circumstances, and as near as he could tell, Annie wasn't at all her normal self. _If she would just STOP so I could figure out what happened..._  
  
He could hear Annie just ahead of him, screaming maniacally for Dusty as though her life depended on it. He put on a quick burst of speed and caught her around the waist just as they broke into the clear area of the dock where Dusty was parked. Not only was Gator present, but also Buddy had pulled up in Hurricane, and Matt had managed to bring Thunderhawk down out of the sky. Brad noted all of this absently, currently preoccupied with the girl struggling in his embrace.  
  
"Annie...stop!" He said gently, but firmly.   
  
"LET GO OF ME!" She yelled, fighting like a wildcat to get away from him. "DUSTY, HELP ME!"  
  
Brad shot the southerner a very pointed look that said plainly, "Let me handle this." He tightened his grip a little and said again, "Annie...STOP! STOP! Stop fighting me and tell me what the hell happened!"  
  
"LET...GOOOO....!"   
  
Annie turned and swung wildly at Brad's unprotected face. Even as surprised as he was, he blocked her easily, catching her wrist in his hand. When she swung with the other hand, he blocked that as well, pinning both of her wrists together in both of his hands. By this point, she had collapsed to her knees, crying hysterically as though he was about to murder her. Utterly confused, Brad didn't know whether to be relieved, upset, angry, or scared, and his confusion only increased when his daughter began begging at his feet.  
  
"Daddy, please, don't take me back there! Please don't take me back, I don't want to be part of VENOM, daddy...daddy...please!"  
  
Shocked, Brad sank to his knees in front of her, still holding her wrists tightly. _She hasn't called me Daddy in years. _"Annie...honey...look at me," he pleaded, pulling her as close as he could without instigating more struggles. When she finally looked up at him, giant tears coursing down her face, he asked as calmly and softly as he could manage, "Honey, why would you think I would take you back to VENOM?"  
  
Annie began to shake, crying all the harder as she breathed, "Roxy...told...me. She told me you were with VENOM! I know you still love Mom! I know you want to go back, and I know you want to take me with you, but I don't want to go! She hates me, Daddy, she told me! I don't want to go...please don't make me go...please...please..."  
  
Her cries faded as she pitched forward into Brad's embrace, shaking violently all over. _Oh dear God, Annie, how could you even consider such a thing?!_ Brad thought, as his heart broke straight into two. The two nasty gashes he felt on Annie's forehead, as he stroked her hair, gave him all the knowledge he needed. A head injury on top of Roxy's twisted truths...he couldn't bring himself to consider any other emotional damage that might have been done. All he could do was hold his daughter tightly, rocking back and forth on his heels as her shaking gave way to total unconsciousness.  
  
Try as they might to ignore the scene that had just taken place in front of them, the other agents couldn't help but overhear what had been said. Matt's face went ashen at the mention of what Roxanne had done, and even Buddy, who was usually pretty calm and collected, wore a look of shocked disgust. As he watched Brad give Annie what little comfort he could, Buddy couldn't help but comment on the situation.  
  
"Roxy, I hate to say it, but this was pretty low, even for you."  
  
"Pretty low? Annie just took a swing at her own father and all you can say is pretty low?!?" Dusty raged.   
  
He pulled Backlash off his head and threw it into Gator's front seat as though taking off the kid gloves. He was so angry; he didn't care who was listening as he turned to Roxanne, prepared to give her the dressing down of her life.   
  
"Of all the downright evil and nasty stunts you've pulled, right down to shooting your brother and getting yer father captured by VENOM, this is by far one of the worst!" Roxanne glared at him defiantly, ready with a snappy reply, but Dusty shot her a deadly glance as he continued. "Don't you interrupt, you just sit there and listen! Brad and your father introduced you to Annie to give you a shot at havin' a true friend, one that I didn't think you deserved, but I got outvoted! And ya know how you repaid that friendship? First, you attacked her in the middle of the night, then...THEN you go draggin her off into VENOM's arms, to a woman who never wanted anything to do with her, and finally, as if all that wasn't bad enough...ya go and shatter her trust in the one person who has ever meant anything to her by twisting yer own version of the truth!"  
  
Roxanne forced herself to get out of Gator while Dusty harped on her. _ I don't have to put up with any of this!_ She told herself while her breathing became more heavily with steams of anger and pain. At times she only heard bits and pieces of Dusty's yelling, because it was slipping thru one ear and out the other.   
  
Dusty paused momentarily to catch his breath, then started in again. "YOU LISTEN'N TO ME GIRL! Yer nothin' but a spoiled, selfish, brat, Roxanne Trakker...you don't know how good you even have it! You see that look on Brad's face?" He pointed to where the singer still sat with Annie cradled in his arms, seemingly oblivious to the goings on around him. "I've seen that look before, the time VENOM used some kinda weapon to make him crash into Gloria. He didn't leave her hospital room for DAYS, he was so guilt ridden! You've got him so suckered, he's blaming HIMSELF for this whole mess, but you know what? I ain't fooled! You ain't got no one but yourself to blame Roxy. Your dad told me you take responsibility for your mistakes, and you better damn well prove him right, or I'm gonna be there every day of your life to remind you!" In a dangerously low tone only Roxanne could hear, he added, "And you better hope Annie don't have any lasting emotional scars from this, or I will make your life a living HELL."  
  
Matt stood there quietly watching his daughter. His instincts told him he should speak up to protect her, yet maybe this was something she needed or was long over due experiencing.  
  
"Hey Dusty I think that's enough," Buddy remark firmly noticing the girl couldn't handle anymore shouting.   
  
Roxanne's only reply was a sudden burst of tears slowly crawling down her face.  
  
"Go ahead and cry," Dusty said in a cold tone. "I already told you not to expect any sympathy from me."  
  
"I don't want your sympathy," She said in a low threaten voice with tears falling down her face, then glancing to the other agents who were all spectators, "OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER!" She started to walk away even thought her entire body felt physically shot, but she had to stay strong. She moved slowly on a limp, yet was determined to walk away with her head held high.  
  
"Where do ya think your going? I ain't done with you yet!" Dusty shouted ready to turn her around to face him right in the eyes.  
  
She carried forward not even bothering to glance at anyone not her father, "Back to VENOM, I'd rather endure Mayhem's torture then listen to this horse shit."  
  
"Roxanne we know you don't mean that," Matt reminded her, "I know the truth hurts, but somebody got to point it out to you. You can't just keep running away when things get tough."  
  
"What the hell do you know about the truth…you weren't there!" Her blue eyes met with her fathers in utter frustration.  
  
"It don't matter your not going anywhere, until you apologize to everybody you hurt!" Dusty stammered.  
  
She stopped running away and turned around to face the whole team. "FINE! If that's what you want, that's exactly what you'll get! I'm sorry I ever met Annie." Brad head lifted up enraged as he held Annie protectively in his arms, by the aggressive tone in Roxanne voice. Roxanne shouted as she continued to apologize to everyone, "I'm sorry that I dragged Annie with me thinking she'd except me, even if she knew who my real friends were. But hey it's you peoples' faults for keeping secrets from the both of us." She rested her arm around her stomach ignoring her body's cry for rest. She then continued to shout her lungs out for the whole world to hear, " I'm sorry I jumped off that burning boat and search that waterway, for what felt like eternity, to pull her drowning body out of that water and breathed life into it. I'm sorry I let VENOM voluntarily kidnaps us, just so she could get medical attention. I'm sorry I told," she choked as she began to cry, "Mayhem MASK's location, just so she wouldn't know what a burning poker feels like." Her breathing became heavy with anger and grief, "I'm defiantly sorry I bother helping her escape, very well knowing I could kill myself and reopen my wounds." She fell to her knees, "I'm not selfish…I'm not…" Her eyes drift to everyone's expressionless face, then to her father, "I'm…I'm…sorry I'm not the…the person you want me to be." She cried as she collapsed to her knees with both her arms around her torso.  
  
Matt was the first to run to her side feeling like he had let her stuffer enough torment. He knelt down and wrapped his arm around her letting her cry on his shoulder, "It's alright honey. I can't ask you to be who your not."  
  
Buddy covered his mouth to hide an expression of 'Wow' on his face, who knew her apology would sum of the entire ordeal.  
  
Dusty was still certain that his version was more or less the truth and felt disgusted as Matt attempted to comfort her.  
  
Brad still stoked Annie hair as she rested in his arms. If what she had said was the truth, he had owed Roxanne more then he had bargained for.  
  
Matt and Brad exchanged worried glances uncertain as to what exactly went down, during those several hours they had disappeared from their lives. Neither Matt nor Brad wanted to move as they clutch their daughters peaceful lying in their arms.  
  
She continued to mumble dazed, "I'm…not selfish…"  
  
Matt kissed the top of her head and spoke in a soft tone, "I know your not." Her crying stopped just moments after he had uttered those words. Then her entire body fell limp in his arms. "Roxanne?" He spoke with concern. "ROXANNE!" he partly yelled fearing she had died in his arms. Matt laid her out on the ground. She's resting. His mind reminded himself as she was still breathing and had a pulse.  
  
Buddy stood over Roxanne as well hoping he could offer some assistance. "She'll be fine Matt…" his eyes then caught some red stains on Matt's uniform, "She's bleeding!"  
  
"What?" Matt's heart race, why hadn't he noticed it before? He glanced down at his arms shaking, and then toward Roxanne whose wounds were bleeding fresh blood.   
  
"Come on…we need to get them both to the hospital," Buddy insisted worried for the sake of both girls.   
  
Dusty knelt down beside Brad and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get her out of here."  
  
Brad nodded dumbly, scooping Annie gently into his arms as he stood. He looked dazedly around for Condor, then realized that even if the bike was drivable, he couldn't use it anyway. He managed to give Dusty a weak smile. "I can't drive."  
  
"I got yer back partner," Dusty said softly as they climbed into Gator. "Just like I always have."  
  
Matt pick up Roxanne and rushed her over to Thunderhawk praying in his mind that she would be alright.  



	14. War Fields: Chapter 14

War Fields: Chapter 14  
  
  
  
Twenty-four hours later Brad Turner entered a hospital room carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers. He walked over towards Annie resting peacefully in her bed. The whole ordeal had exhausted her physically and mentally. He rested the flowers beside her bed, and then kissed her cheek, as he brushed away a few strands of red hair from her face. Her head was bandaged up covering the gashes she had received, but besides that the doctors said she'd make a quick recovery. Deep down Brad knew it would take her longer for her to recover. She had learned thing he never dreamed her knowing and faced her mother for the first time in her life. He was uncertain how she'd treat him once she regains consciousness. His thinking was interrupted by the commotion from the patient in the next bed.   
  
Roxanne opened her eyes blinking several times as if the light blinded her. She grunted and moaned slightly, as she realized she could feel the pain in her sides again. "I need more morphine," She bickered while she attempted to reach a remote to call the nurse. She cussed lightly once she realized the remote was barely touching her fingertips.  
  
Brad walked around the curtain dividing the two beds and stood there, with his arms cross watching her stretching her hand towards the remote, "Need a little help?"  
  
Roxanne face jumped up in fear to meet Brad's eyes. For the first time she wished he had worn his sunglasses, because she wasn't ready to face him. Her tongue remained tied up, as she looked for signs of him ready to lash out.  
  
Brad took a few steps towards her, and she turned her head away in fear of him striking. "I'm not that mad," He spoke in a calm tone placing the remote into her hand. _I can't believe she'd actually think I'd hit her anyway._  
  
"I feel bad about what I did. I…I wasn't thinking when I took her with me. Vanessa really chewed me out about it. If I just known the truth, I wouldn't of bothered. I didn't want to hurt anyone," A few tears streaked down her face. "I just wanted to be where I was accepted. I thought Annie would appreciate who I am, especially after standing up for me."  
  
Brad pulled up a chair, "We all did some talking shortly after we brought you both in. I'm mad because you dragged my daughter into something dangerous. Yes, I kept Vanessa's identity secret from you, but I also kept your relationship with VENOM secret from Annie. I was afraid the knowledge would ruin your friendship before it started. I hoped," he paused, letting out a deep sigh as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair, "that you would gradually come to share those secrets with each other as your friendship grew. Now," he paused again, gravely, "I don't know." He shook his head and shrugged, unsure how to express his mixed feelings. " But, I also realize that you did everything in your power to protect Annie, even at the cost of your own life. That means a lot."  
  
Roxanne confessed, "I didn't just protect her for you or the sake my future existence, I did it for Vanessa as well."  
  
Brad looked to her slightly confused.   
  
"She'd never be the one to admit it, but she has spot buried somewhere in her heart for Annie. I saw first glance at it when Annie had just turned her away," She remarked with slight sorrow in her tone.  
  
Brad let that sink in a moment, more confused now than ever. _If she ever felt that way, I would have never known. She acts more or less like she never had a child. Then again, if anyone knows Vanessa's weak moments, it's Roxy._  
  
"I need to know why you told Annie that I worked for VENOM," Brad looked her dead in eye as his thoughts focused on Vanessa and her organization.  
  
"Brad I told her a lot of things I should never tell anyone," She confessed, " I was mad. She was shouting her mouth off, and I was shouting off mine. I only said the truth that you had been with VENOM for 3 months. I never said anything to indicate you were still associated."  
  
"No, her head injury did that for you," Brad replied absently.  
  
"I already said I felt bad," Roxanne replied somewhat petulantly. "Are you still going to let Dusty kill me?"  
  
Brad smiled slightly at the thought, "It crossed my mind. Probably depends on Annie more than anything," he added, a slight teasing note in his voice.  
  
She looked at him wide-eyed. _If that's the case, may as well write my will now. I know she'll milk his sympathy for all its worth.  
_  
Still unsure what to make of his jumbled emotions, Brad sighed in defeat at the sight of Roxy looking hurt and properly contrite. "Alright Roxy, I'm not saying your off the hook, but I'll consider it." He started to walk away, "And I'll go grab that nurse for you."  
  
Roxanne smiled feeling reassured he wasn't going to hate her forever.  
  
  
Muffled voices drifted into Annie's consciousness. As she shifted towards full wakefulness, the voices became clearer. One male, one female. She only heard the last snippet of the conversation, but it was enough to make all the feelings of hurt, anger, bitterness, and betrayal come rushing back upon her.  
  
"...you're off the hook, but I'll consider it..." her father's voice said from the other side of the curtain in her room. "And I'll go grab that nurse for you."  
  
Eyes still blurry, Annie watched him walk out of the room towards the Nurse's station, clenching the blankets tighter as her temper flared. _First he goes and practically forgives her right on the spot, then he just leaves without a backward glance. 'I'll consider it,' my foot, she'll have him eating out of the palm of her hand in no time, just a twist of the truth here and there._ Annie closed her eyes again at the dull ache in her head and the pain rising from her heart. Her eyes snapped open sharply as she heard the sound of the curtain separating her and Roxy being pulled back.  
  
"Uh, hi girls," Scott's boyish man voice greeted both of them shyly.  
  
The room suddenly held a deadly silence. Roxanne and Annie both lay in their respective beds, still as statues, saying nothing. The tension in the air thickened to the point of suffocation. Scott felt much like a new soldier finding himself navigating carefully through a field of land mines. One misstep and there would be fireworks, a big explosion, and then it would all be over. He placed a chair in the exact center of the room, treading carefully as he laid a vase with one red rose on each of their bed stands. Then he sat down, trying not to visibly gulp as he attempted to bridge the slowly widening crevasse he felt separated 'his' two girls.  
  
"I'm really glad you guys are okay," Scott said conversationally, ignoring the almost visibly thick cloud of tension in the room. "When I saw Rax torpedo your boat, I thought that you guys were...well, you know," he paused, unable to finish the sentence. "I was pretty scared, even more so when faced with the thought of telling Dad and Brad." He glanced over at Annie, who looked back sympathetically. He looked sidelong at Roxy, who just seemed stoic about the whole thing. "I thought for sure they'd blame me, and I'd be a goner too."  
  
"It wasn't your fault," Annie whispered to him softly.  
  
"Ooooo, her highness awakes," Roxanne snarled, hearing Annie's voice but not her words. "Please your majesty, enlighten me with your words of wisdom."  
  
"Roxy!" Scott admonished, before he thought better of it. Now wasn't a good time to look like he was attempting to take sides. He loved both girls differently and had not wish to be caught in the middle of their argument.  
  
"I said," Annie repeated accusingly, "that what happened wasn't SCOTT'S fault."  
  
"Accusing me, princess?" Roxanne asked with syrupy sweetness. "Maybe I should remind you that I SAVED YOUR LIFE! TWICE!"  
  
"My life never would have been endangered if you would have LISTENED TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Annie screamed, sitting bolt upright and resisting the urge to shatter Scott's vase of flowers in Roxanne's face. She didn't wait for Roxanne to reply as she continued angrily, "Not that anyone cares about that. Or the fact that you dragged me unwilling onto that boat, into my mother's oh so loving arms. Nobody cares that she still doesn't give a damn about me, and they don't care that you partied it up with VENOM while I rotted away in a jail cell! No, just a few Roxanne Trakker twists on the truth, and you have them sighing 'Oh Roxy, we forgive you! How could we have been so cruel?' Well, you'll forgive me for not falling at your feet in a lump of quivering gratefulness...I'm not about to thank the person responsible for me being here."  
  
"Annie!" This time Scott's protest was more plea than admonition.  
  
"It's okay, Scott," Roxanne soothed him. "She's too afraid to admit she was too weak to save her own hide. At least your father's grateful I saved your life," she continued, knowing Annie'd rise to the bait.  
  
"It wasn't bad enough you stole my mother, you had to brainwash him too!" Annie's voice cracked with hurt and bitterness. With all the strength she could muster, she swung her legs over the side of her bed. "Well, guess what? I'm not going to sit here and take this. Unlike you, Roxy, I have friends I don't have to manipulate or lie to, and they'd be happy to have me around weaknesses and all." Shakily, she stood to her feet.  
  
"Annie, where are you going?" Scott asked worriedly, resisting the urge to run over and comfort her like he did at the hotel. Her face looked scared and vulnerable, but her eyes were hard chunks of emerald. Scott knew that attempting to comfort her now would just make the situation worse.  
  
Roxanne turned her head and glanced at Annie's feeble attempt to be strong, "We'll see if she even makes it to the door."  
  
She ignored her comment and managed two shaky steps toward the door. "Anywhere. As long as it's away from HER."  
  
"GOOD!" Roxanne yelled in retort. "I'm sick of listening to you whine! Go back to those hillbilly rednecks you hang out with on that godforsaken mountain!"  
  
"If it meant I would never have to see you again," Annie replied with dangerous calm, "then I would live the rest of my life and DIE in those mountains. At least my friends in the Rangers know the truth when they hear it, and they would never let me be tortured by their Commander!"  
  
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT REAL TORTURE FEELS LIKE!" She shouted in anger practically trying to lift her body out of bed. She sat on her elbows growled in a treating tone, "Maybe you'd to take a look at the mess, I took for your ungrateful sorry hind!"  
  
"Roxy don't get out of bed! Annie please you can't go!" Scott attempted to keep both girls in bed. His head did a double take with frustration. There was no way he could sway either girl to listen to him. He cried in a loud voice, "PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!"   
  
Annie shambled a few more paces toward the doorway, only to find it blocked by Brad's sturdy frame. He folded his arms across his chest, much as he did with Roxanne, and regarded her with a look full of such a mixture of emotions that Annie couldn't begin to tell what he was thinking. That more than anything made her take that first dizzy, involuntary step backward.   
  
"That's enough, both of you," Brad said tonelessly, taking in both his daughter and Roxanne with that penetrating gaze.  
  
"She started it," Roxy muttered under her breath collapsing back into bed realizing she had no strength in her upper body what so ever.  
  
"We're finishing it." Matt's voice carried the same toneless quality as Brad's. "You heard him, Roxanne, he meant both of you."  
  
She breath heavily still letting steam escape her nostrils, a few tears followed realizing her attempt to get up had worsen her current condition "uhhh…just unbelievable."  
  
Brad stepped out of the doorway, allowing Matt to enter along with the nurse they summoned for Roxanne. They quickly walked to Roxanne's side of the room. Brad watched his daughter wobbling on her feet, then flicked a glance in Scott's direction. The torn look on his face made his emotions apparent. Brad hated to make him feel worse, but he had to get the girls separated as best as possible.  
  
"Scott, do me a favor and put the curtain back please," Brad asked as kindly as he could manage.  
  
Scott swallowed hard and nodded, placing the divider back with a WHOOSH. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped to the other side to join his father and his sister.  
  
Under the weight of Brad's hefty gaze, Annie's legs finally gave out from under her. He caught her easily, letting her head rest in the crook of his arm as he pulled her upright. "Where did you think you were going?" he asked sharply.  
  
"I don't..." Annie held her tears in check, "...want to be here with HER."  
  
"Well," Brad began as he lifted Annie up and placed her gently back in her bed, pulling the blankets up around her, "you obviously aren't going to just walk out of here, and I'm not going to take you home in your current state. So," he continued as he pulled a chair over to the side of her bed and sat down, "we're going to have to wait for the doctor to release you, and stunts like this aren't going to increase your chances."  
  
Annie sat with her head bowed, a sniffle betraying the fact that she was crying underneath the strands of hair that hid her face. In his typical fatherly gesture, Brad brushed a limp piece away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She looked almost like a child sitting there, so miserable and vulnerable from the nightmare she had just been through. Brad's heart ached, and the high emotions running through his body softened at the sight. As he had done so many times when she was a little girl, he continued to smooth her hair back.  
  
"Talk to me, honey," he pleaded softly.  
  
She didn't answer right away. When she finally did, her voice betrayed the same mixture of strong feelings he had. "Do you want to hear MY side of the story, or are you just willing to accept Roxanne's as the complete truth?"  
  
"Of course I want to hear your side," Brad replied, slightly hurt and offended. "With emotions running so high, though, I'm just not sure this is the best time."  
  
"I don't think there will ever be a GOOD time," Annie said miserably.  
  
"All right then, let's hear it," Brad said, a little more gruffly than he intended.  
  
He settled back in the chair, making himself as comfortable as possible as he adopted his listening pose. Annie turned her head and glanced at him sideways. She tried unsuccessfully to wipe her tears away, but they just fell all the harder. Finally, she just gave up and started talking, hoping all the while she could keep her voice steady.  
  
"If I had realized sooner what was happening, I never would have let her get me on that boat. Everything happened so fast... I didn't realize who had ran past us until we were already in the water. Once I knew we were chasing after VENOM, I practically begged Roxy to turn around, but she just laughed and said she used to work for them. Then I of course blurted out who my mother was...I swear she sped up after that. I asked her to turn around again...we would still have had time to get help, and Rax wouldn't have felt threatened enough to fire a torpedo at us! None of this would have happened if she would have listened to me in the first place!"  
  
Annie choked, tears streaming wildly down her face. Brad realized sitting in the chair wasn't going to cut it as he moved to sit down on the corner of her bed. He took her hands in his and waited for her to compose herself enough to continue.  
  
Roxanne's voice carried cuttingly over from the other side of the room. "Excuse me for thinking you'd accept my REAL friends. I thought you were a TRUE friend, guess I was wrong."  
  
"Do you introduce all your TRUE friends to terrorists and torturers or am I just one of the lucky few?" Annie retorted scathingly.  
  
Before Roxanne could reply back Matt towered over her like a shadow and spoke in a demanding voice, "Cut it out, there'll be no more arguing." She gritted her teeth in anger, because she was denied a chance to defend herself. Her upset gaze shifted from her father to the nurse, who was injected her with morphine.   
  
"Enough..." Brad's voice was soft, yet authoritative. "Let it go."  
  
_There he goes, sticking up for HER again._ "Dad!"  
  
"I said to leave it alone." He joined the authoritative tone with the 'don't argue with me' look. Brad noted Matt's murmurs indicated he was giving Roxy much the same lecture. "Tell me what else happened."  
  
Annie's eyes flashed hurtfully, but she swallowed and continued her story. "I got a rude awakening when I woke up, threw up what was left in my stomach, and found Vanessa Warfield standing over me."  
  
"I saved her life, Vanessa patched up her injuries, and she doesn't even have the courtesy to be grateful!" Roxanne yelled across the barrier separating the room. "The ungrateful bitch hit her! And Dusty...called me...selfish..." Roxy's voice seemed to be waning.  
  
Scott stood in the corner of the room shocked at what his ears have heard, "Annie is not, take that back!"  
  
"I'm not going to take ANYTHING BACK!" she shouted at Scott, "She is what she is…I can think of much more suitable names that are far too vulgar for your fragile ears."  
  
Matt's voice boomed through her sending a chill down her spine, "I'm not going to tolerate your out bursting anymore!"  
  
The nurse looked at the poor girl who was ready to shatter, "She probably didn't mean it sir. She's in a lot of pain. It's kind of difficult for anyone to think straight."  
  
Roxanne could feel the effects of the morphine running thru her system, yet she still fought to stay awake. "You…never believe me…" she spoke with a few tears before drifting off to sleep.   
  
Annie clenched her hands into fists as they still rested in Brad's. She looked up at her father, a cold, angry look settling across her features as she asked, "Since I'm not allowed to defend myself, do you plan on just sitting there and letting her talk to me like that?"  
  
"No." Brad stood and disappeared around the corner; wearing that completely unreadable expression she had first seen when he walked in.   
  
Matt sat in a chair next to Roxanne bed and dried up the remaining tears on her face. "I never said I didn't," he replied to her, as if she could hear him in her sleep.  
  
"You know I'm trying to have a serious conversation with my daughter, her commentary isn't making this any easier for me," Brad insisted.  
  
"I know," Matt reassured him as he tucked Roxanne back into bed, "She'll be out cold for several hours. I don't think she'll disturb you anymore."   
  
  
Annie could hear soft murmurs of sound carried over, before Brad came back and resumed his perch on Annie's bed. "She's practically out."  
  
_He can't even yell at her properly! Thanks for defending me, Dad_! "You didn't say much," Annie accused.  
  
"I'm not going to kick her while she's down, no matter how much of a pain in the ass she's being," Brad countered. "Besides, Dusty already gave her a severe tongue lashing when you passed out, on your behalf I might add."   
  
Brad stopped, pausing dramatically at Annie's uncharacteristically astonished expression. She looked at him wide eyed in surprise. "He did?"  
  
She had to have hit her head harder than he thought. _ Of course he did. He's just as protective of you as I am, sometimes more so._ "Only after you accused me of wanting to take you back to VENOM." Brad let out a mirthless chuckle, and asked nonchalantly, "So did Roxy tell you about that before or after you hit Vanessa?"  
  
"After," Annie said quietly, still reeling from the shock of Brad's revelation. "After she hit me...TWICE! After she tried to pile blame on you for the whole mess. She insinuated you never should have introduced me to Roxanne in the first place."   
  
He returned a not so casual shrug. "Maybe she's right."  
  
"Maybe she has no cause to say anything about what you decide for me, because she didn't have the guts to stick around!" Annie retorted with righteous indignation. ''Besides, you and I both know that's not the WHOLE truth, just like I'm assuming, hoping, and praying that Roxy didn't tell me the whole truth about you being an agent for VENOM."  
  
"She didn't." Brad wanted to just leave it at that for the moment and let Annie finish her tale, but her arched eyebrow and quizzical expression told him he wouldn't be off the hook that easily. So he sighed inwardly and took the plunge, hoping she'd at least pretend to understand. "She conveniently left out the part where I was trying to rescue a kidnapped professor, stop them from building and using a dangerous weapon, not to mention getting her out alive, all under Matt's careful direction."  
  
"You were ACTING?!?" A flurry of emotions flickered through Annie's eyes, chiefest among them astonishment and was that...relief? She slumped back against the pillows, a flush of shame in her cheeks. "I can't believe I thought that you would...I wasn't... She made it sound like... you went because of.... Vanessa."  
  
"In a roundabout way," Brad admitted. "Our 'relationship' made the act believable, but don't let Roxy fool you because it was no party. I almost didn't think I was going to make it out of there alive."  
  
"I...remembered hearing Jesse and Jackie talking one night...about what would happen if you...hadn't..." Tears began climbing down her cheeks again. "Why didn't you ever TELL me?"  
  
He wiped a tear away from her cheek as he brushed her hair back. "Because I knew that even if I managed to convince you it was all an act, you still wouldn't understand. I know that hurts, but I also know you know it's true. So I took the easy way out and asked Matt to have PNA classify it highly confidential, so even if you did find out, I wouldn't have been able to tell you."  
  
Annie closed her eyes and turned her head away. He was right...it did hurt that he couldn't trust her with the truth, but then again, he was also right that she wouldn't understand. She still wasn't sure she did, and she wasn't sure if it was because of lingering effects from her head injury or her own perspective on things. _Damnit,_ she cursed silently.  
  
Knowing this topic couldn't go much further, Brad steered the conversational ball back into Annie's court. "You haven't finished. What happened after you defended my honor and hit Vanessa?"  
  
She opened her eyes, but didn't turn back toward him. "She threw me out...got rid of me, just like she did when I was born. She had Rax lock me up in a cell. Oddly enough, he told me he was going to protect me from everyone else, I guess because he knew who I REALLY was, and I was so messed up I started comparing him to you."  
  
Brad let out a small laugh. "Oddly enough, I don't think I mind the comparison. If anyone other than Vanessa was going to watch your back, I'm glad it was him."  
  
"I wish I could've shared that sentiment, but I was too busy being scared out of my mind. Roxy was nowhere to be found, and I didn't relish the idea of only having him to place my faith in," Annie sighed. "I managed to fall asleep, and it was only when I woke up later with Rax and Roxy outside my cell that I found out where she was. Partying it up with them, playing cards, smoking, and confessing her undying devotion while I rotted away, hurt and scared!"   
  
Brad's face remained relatively neutral as he filed that piece of information away, prompting, "Go on."  
  
"We argued...that's when she told me about you being in VENOM. I cried and fell asleep again, and shortly after I woke up, Mayhem was there." She shivered visibly, turning back toward him, her eyes showing that same fearful expression as when she first saw the VENOM leader. "He demanded to know where Matt was, then hauled her away. When the screaming started...I...I...thought it was all over." Annie's voice quaked as much as her shaking body, but she managed a controlled laugh as she said, "When I saw what he had done, I...yelled for Rax. Ironic, isn't it?"  
  
"Kinda," Brad admitted softly.  
  
"He called for Vanessa. I couldn't help but notice..." Annie's voice all but disappeared. "...that she mothered over Roxy and her injuries like she... she should have done for me all those years. When I managed to ask her about it, she...told me... I didn't... meet her standards. I don't...know why...I let it...bother me...but it...it...it HURT!"  
  
Brad gathered her into his arms protectively as a strangled sob escaped her lips. Tears streamed down Annie's face as she finally let herself break down and release all the emotions pent up inside her. He wanted to just hold her and let her cry, but there was one more thing bothering him that he had to find out. Resting his head on top of hers, swallowing hard, he spoke quietly. "Honey, I can't fault you for being angry, hurt, and bitter, at both Vanessa and Roxy, but they did save your life and protect you from harm in their own way, as well as helping you escape from that hellhole. Don't you think that that should mean something?"  
  
"I don't know what to think!" Annie sobbed brokenly into his chest. "I want...I want so much to be your sweet, forgiving little girl...but I...I can't!" Her voice strengthened with her momentary vehemence. "I know you taught me better than that, but at least I can admit I know I'm wrong! I know you, Dusty, Buddy, Matt, Scott, and everybody else will think badly of me, and so will Jesse, Jackie, Matt, Cody, and the rest of the Rangers, but I just can't get past it! I can't get past the fact that my mother doesn't think I'm good enough for her, and I can't get past the fact that this could have been avoided if Roxy would have just thought about the consequences and listened to me!!! I know I should be grateful to her, and to Vanessa, but I just... I just..." Annie's voice faltered again, and her sobs became louder again. "I just...can't...I can't... not now...maybe...maybe not...not ever.... I'm sorry...I'm so...so..." Her teeth chattered with violent sobs "...sorry."  
  
Brad closed his eyes and held Annie tightly, knowing that her reply was the answer his heart knew she'd give. "I'm sorry too, honey," he whispered. Then he remained quiet and let his daughter cry out all of her hurt and sorrow. It seemed like an eternity before her cries died to mere whimpers, then subsided entirely as she drifted into an exhausted sleep. Having no wish to move himself, Brad gently maneuvered so that Annie's head rested on his shoulder, and he had enough room to stretch his legs out onto the bed. His feet dangled over the side, but he was comfortable enough as he let his head rest against Annie's. He felt his eyes drifting shut as well...this whole ordeal had exhausted him too.  
  
"Brad?" called Scott's voice timidly.  
  
He opened his eyes to regard Matt's son. Scott poked his head around the side of the curtain, looking like a lost puppy as he asked, "Is Annie...is she gonna be alright?"  
  
Brad shook his head sadly. "I don't know, Scott. I just don't know."  
  
He closed his eyes again, and this time they stayed closed as he fell asleep too.  
  
Matt came up behind Scott and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "Overtime both their wounded hearts will heal, and maybe if they can surpass their personal grudges towards one another they can become friends again."  
  
Scott knew his father spoke the truth. No matter how hard he tried, he'll never be able to put them in the same room again. I can't choose between them. I won't do that ever. He looked up at his father, "I just hope that day comes sooner then expected."  
  
"I think we all do," Matt gave him a crooked smile.  



	15. War Fields: Chapter 15

Author's Note: Okay, here's the grand finale *sniffle*! Thanks to Harry for all his reviews, even if he has no sympathy for my character! :) Dangit, everyone loves Roxy...well, except for Dusty anyhow! :) I have a possible sequel on the way, and there's another possible story in the works that brings in another MASK-ed daughter! Keep watching this section.

Oh, I decided since I started with some Restless Heart music, I'd end with them too. :) The lyrics to "Say What's in Your Heart" is copyrighted by them and the respective songwriters.

  
  
  
War Fields: Chapter 15  
  
  
  
Four days had gone by before the mess in Venice was straightened out. The altar was returned to its rightful owners in its original condition. Mistier Lamont was arrested and awaiting trial by the local judicial system. MASK had thoroughly investigated VENOM's hideout for any indication of future operations or the location of their headquarters, yet very little intelligence could be recovered. After Matt and his agents issued their formal reports to the PNA, they were given orders to return home.  
  
Brad had just arrived with Annie at Venice Airstrip in a cab. He put a lovingly arm around her as they walked towards a huge transport plane, "Sure you feel well enough."  
  
"All I need is home, then I'll feel 100%," She replied. Yesterday she relived to be released from the hospital. She never wanted to be that close to Roxanne Trakker ever again, although she realized she'd still have to survive the trip home. Shouldn't be that bad…Dusty and Dad will keep her away from me. Her father had taken her out these last few hours in Venice just so the trip wouldn't be a completely bad experience. He had even managed to somehow find all the stuff Scott and T-Bob had dropped from their previous shopping trip. Still more or less home was where she wanted to be more then ever.   
  
As they walked up the ramp leading into the transport Annie noticed a banner reading 'Welcome Back Annie!'   
  
Dusty popped out, "There's my girl! Been missing ya a lot."   
  
Annie heart warmed by the welcome, "Thanks Dusty."  
  
Dusty eyed the scar on her head, "Ya feeling better? No lasting side effects."  
  
_Yeah I'll never be the same person again._ She hid her true response, by keeping the friendly smile on her face, "Nothing but minor headaches I'm afraid."  
  
"Well I know just the cure for that. Good old Dusty made some of his special recipe for the trip home. Take one bite and all those nasty head aches will disappear." To emphasize his statement, Dusty pulled two cookies from behind his back and held them out to Annie.  
  
Annie reached out tenderly for the two treats, as though they might disintegrate in Dusty's hand. "Are those...double chocolate chip?" Dusty just grinned in reply as she took a bite out of one. A delirious look passed over her face as she breathed, "Still warm too! You certainly know your way to my heart!"  
  
Buddy popped up behind Condor still working out the damages it sustained during battle, "It's your stomach I'm worried about. Be careful with those or you'll get a bad case of indigestion."  
  
"HEY NOW! That's my cooking you're talking about." Dusty shouted feeling insulted.  
  
"Annie," Buddy nodded his head in respect, "Great to have you back. Hope the hospital stay wasn't too painful."   
  
_In what way?_ She wanted to ask, but she kept her mind on the blissful, heavenly taste of Dusty's cookies as she replied, "I got through it."  
  
Buddy's eyes then drifted to the banner, "Hey Dusty that banner just has Annie name on it."  
  
"Cause she's the only one welcome," He replied winking to Annie.  
  
Annie smiled at Dusty loyalty. _Finally, somebody who agrees with me! _  
  
"For crying out loud Dusty are you trying to stir something up," Brad shook his head and rubbed his eyes under his shades. " I've had enough conflict this week couldn't we just have a quiet trip home."  
  
Her smiled disappeared once her father spoke up. "What is your problem? Can't stand the fact that he made a sign for me."  
  
"It's not that honey, I'm just worried how…"  
  
"OH how Roxy going to react," Annie completed his sentence. "It disgusts me how you can even think about her feelings, after what she put me through. Don't you even care about me?"  
  
"I care about you more then anything. I never left your bedside the whole time you were in the hospital. I just don't want a fight to break out."  
  
"You probably don't want to have to choose sides, either." Annie said as she stormed away from her father angry.   
  
Dusty put a comforting arm around Annie and lead her towards the rest area, "Don't mind him, he's just tired. Let's go get ya some grub."  
  
She sighed deeply in frustration, then looked over at Dusty as she remembered what Brad told her in the hospital. "Thanks for sticking up for me. It's nice to know that at least one person understands."  
  
"Somebody had to," Dusty replied as he hugged her shoulders. "Brad'll come around too, eventually, just give it some time." Then he flashed her a wicked grin as they reached the food. "Want another cookie?"  
  
Despite her anger and frustration, Annie smiled.   
  
  
As Dusty and Annie walked away, Brad shrugged as if he had just given up, "I'll be in the cockpit getting the transport ready for liftoff."  
  
"She can't stay mad at you forever Brad," Buddy reminded him.  
  
"I know," Brad replied, walking away. "It's how long she'll stay mad that worries me. As if my life isn't complicated enough."  
  
  
A few minutes later Thunderhawk drove into the transport. Matt and Scott had just picked up Roxanne from the hospital. Roxanne crossed her arms as she looked at the banner that was starring her in the face, "Remind me why I check out early?"  
  
Matt stepped out of Thunderhawk and opened her passenger side door, "Nobody is holding any grudges towards you."  
  
Roxanne faced showed her disbelief, "Why don't I believe you?"  
  
Scott rolled a wheelchair over towards her, and Matt gently lifted her from the car into it. Her eyes then drifted back to the banner, yet she was surprise to see Buddy standing on a ladder trying to squeeze her name on it with a black marker.  
  
"I'm glad to see somebody misses me," She remarked with an enthusiastic smile.   
  
Buddy turned around, "Well Dusty kind of bought the banner…felt it was missing someone important."  
  
Roxanne could feel her cheeks turning rose red with embarrassment by that remark.  
  
Dusty stormed out once he saw what Buddy had done, "HEY!" He then turned his head looking at Matt and bit back his words of frustration, "Nice job Buddy!" Yet his compliment was more like a threatening gesture.   
  
Matt looked down on Roxanne, "Are you going to be alright? I have to help prepare for take off."  
  
"Yeah, I got Scott to be my male nurse," She remarked with a slight snicker.  
  
"I am not!" Scott replied in a boyish tone as he pushed her wheelchair.  
  
Matt smiled at the bickering siblings and headed off towards the cockpit, meanwhile Buddy hopped down from the ladder and greeted her, "So how you feeling?"  
  
"Tired mostly," She then grumbled with great displeasure, "and confined to a wheelchair, until my stitches come out."  
  
"So that means you won't be visiting me in the garage anytime soon then," Buddy remarked.  
  
"Hey I said I was stuck with this thing…not crippled," She snapped back.  
  
"That's what I thought," He replied teasing her slightly. "Hey Scott better get her strapped in before take off."  
  
"YES SIR!" He replied as she wheeled his sister off.  
  
"Hey don't call me sir!" Buddy felt like he had just been put down, "I ain't that old to be called sir."  
  
Roxanne and Scott were laughing at Buddy's sour reaction to the title of sir, yet the laughter died as Annie and Roxy came faced to face.  
  
Scott ignored the tension, "Oh Annie you should of saw Buddy face when I called him sir. He looked like he was going to burst."  
  
"I can believe it," Annie managed to get out still sending an ugly gaze to Roxy.  
  
"What's your problem? Never seen anyone wheelchair before?" Roxanne remark with a bit of snotty tone.  
  
"Not one who's a traitorous backstabber as you," Annie manage to huff out as she turned her gaze uninterested.  
  
"I think you knocked out a few brain cells, cause you don't seem to remember the events clearly enough. Then again you were knocked out during most of it," She reminded.  
  
"And you were enjoying yourself partying with terrorist during most of it," Annie reminded her.  
  
"Please girls can you not fight. After take off, you can separate and do what ever you want," Scott insisted trying to keep the peace.  
  
Annie noticed that Scott wasn't in the mood to endure any harsh exchanging of words either, "Fine!"  
  
"Yeah sure…Whatever!" Roxanne snorted.  
  
After Scott had secured Roxanne into her seat, she pulled out a book that allowed her mind to drift elsewhere.   
  
Annie put on her headphones and starred out the window ignoring Roxy existence. She turned the volume up as far as she could stand it to make sure it drowned out any other extraneous background noise, especially any other cutting remarks Roxy might decide to make during the long trip home. She leaned back into her seat and pressed play.  
  
  
_Sometimes a man and a woman make plans  
And then change in the middle of the stream  
Why does the flame die?  
And where does the blame lie?  
And what becomes of their dreams?  
Will I be starting on my own again brand new?  
Or will I be rebuilding what I once had with you?  
  
Tell me:  
  
Say you don't need me and I'll be gone  
Say that you want me and I'll come home  
I can take anything but standing in the dark  
Don't hold nothing back  
Please say what's in your heart_  
  
  
After take off Roxanne and Annie never once spoken to each other. Annie realized with an ironic smile that it was another Restless Heart disc in the player. _Say what's in your heart indeed, Annie thought as she glanced over at Roxy. I really don't have the strength to express what I really think. She's not worth it anyway._ Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention back toward the cockpit, where her father poked his head out for a moment. Their eyes met briefly before he turned back to the controls and she focused on the music once more.  
  
  
_We always said we'd tell each other everything  
That we were feeling deep inside  
Now when I see your eyes  
No matter how you try  
You're feelin' somethin you can't hide  
Everyone knows the way that loves supposed to be  
But in the real world, there ain't no guarantee  
  
Say you don't need me and I'll be gone  
Say that you want me and I'll come home  
I can take anything but standing in the dark  
Don't hold nothing back  
Please say what's in your heart  
  
  
Maybe someday, Dad,_ she thought at the figure in the transport's cockpit. _Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you how much it really hurts. Maybe someday you'll actually understand.  
_  
  
_I'll still love you no matter what you say  
I'll stand by you, but I won't stand in your way  
_  
  
"All quiet on the Western Front?" Matt asked with a sardonic smile as Brad re-entered the cockpit.  
  
"They're doing their best to ignore each other," Brad replied as he sat back down. "I can hear the lyrics to Annie's CD from all the way over here, and Roxy's been staring at the same page of her book for five minutes."  
  
"Scott?"  
  
"Trying his best not to let them tear him apart, I imagine." Brad ran his fingers through his hair, resisting the urge to bang his head on the walls of the jet. "Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all."  
  
"Don't blame yourself, Brad." Matt tried to sound comforting, but he himself felt a little guilty too. "We just need to stand by them and hope they can work past this."  
  
"I know," Brad sighed. "I know."  
  
  
S_ay you don't need me and I'll be gone  
Say that you want me and I'll come home  
I can take anything but standing in the dark  
Don't hold nothing back  
Please say what's in your heart_  
  
  
As the transport landed and everyone disembarked, Annie shot Roxanne Trakker's back one last turbulent glare. _I hope I never have to see or talk to you again._ Little did she realize, Roxanne felt exactly the same way.  



End file.
